Revisiting Kevin Costner’s Waterworld After 30 Years: History Repeats Itself
Kevin Costner’s Waterworld Remains One of His Most Notorious Films, Now Echoed by His Latest Project
In the mid-1990s, Kevin Costner was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, having cemented his reputation with Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves and beloved baseball classics like Field of Dreams and Bull Durham. Yet, one of his most infamous movies, Waterworld, released nearly 30 years ago, came to define a turning point in his career. Despite grossing $264.2 million worldwide against a hefty $175 million budget, Waterworld became known more for its massive production costs and perceived financial failure than for its storytelling.
Now, as Waterworld marks its 30th anniversary, another recent Costner project has drawn comparisons, both for its ambition and its commercial disappointment: Horizon: An American Saga.
How Kevin Costner’s Horizon Mirrors the Challenges of Waterworld Nearly Three Decades Later
While Waterworld was widely viewed as a costly misstep that damaged Costner’s standing as a top-tier movie star, it didn’t diminish his boldness in taking creative risks. Decades later, he embarked on an equally ambitious—and ultimately more personal—venture with Horizon: An American Saga, an epic Western saga intended as a franchise spanning at least four films.
The excitement around Costner’s return to his Western roots was palpable, but much like the initial backlash against Waterworld’s enormous budget, Horizon quickly became overshadowed by doubts about its feasibility. The plan to shoot multiple movies back-to-back and release them months apart was seen by many as overly ambitious, and the project faced skepticism before audiences even saw the first installment.
When Horizon: Part 1 finally hit theaters, it struggled at the box office, leading to the cancellation of the sequels’ planned theatrical releases. Despite most of the franchise being filmed, there remains uncertainty about if or when the remaining films will be released. The financial underperformance of Horizon has since cast a shadow over the entire project, much like the lingering reputation of Waterworld decades earlier.
A Bigger Personal Gamble: Costner’s Investment in Horizon
While both Waterworld and Horizon are often cited as failures in Costner’s career, Horizon represents a far greater personal risk. Unlike Waterworld, which was financed by studios, Costner personally invested approximately $38 million into Horizon, even putting a loan on his house to fund the production.
Unfortunately, Horizon’s box office returns barely matched Costner’s personal investment, meaning he faces significant financial losses. This level of personal commitment has earned admiration from many movie fans, who view the project as a labor of love despite its commercial struggles.
Reevaluating Waterworld and the Reality of Horizon
It’s important to note that Waterworld was not the outright disaster many believed it to be. Though it failed to recoup its budget in theaters, it eventually turned a profit through home video sales and other distribution channels. In contrast, the financial outlook for Horizon is far more bleak, with its theatrical failure likely to prevent any substantial profit.
Critically, Horizon received mixed reviews, holding a 51% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet, the personal stakes Costner has in this project set it apart from Waterworld. While Waterworld was often criticized as an overblown blockbuster with a questionable premise, Horizon is seen by many as a passionate, if flawed, effort to bring Costner’s Western vision to life.
Even those who were not fans of the film seem to root for Costner, hoping he can complete the saga he’s dedicated so much of himself to—though the odds of that happening now appear slim.
