Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon’ is a giant box office disaster — and he mortgaged his land to pay for it
The cost will be high for Costner.
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1,” the Western movie Kevin Costner directed, co-wrote and stars in, tanked at the box office last weekend, grossing a paltry $11 million.
More alarming is that the three-hour film, which the former “Yellowstone” star reportedly put $38 million of his own money into, is the first of a four-part series. The second entry hits theaters quickly in August, and the third is currently filming.
According to Vanity Fair, Costner, 69, plans to devote $100 million of his own cash to the ambitious effort.
“I’ve mortgaged 10 acres on the water in Santa Barbara where I was going to build my last house,” Costner told Deadline.
“It has thrown my accountant into a f – – king conniption fit. But it’s my life, and I believe in the idea and the story.”
The sprawling tale, which is distributed by Warner Bros., follows more than 20 characters during Western expansion in Civil War-era America. It stars Costner, Sienna Miller, Luke Wilson, Sam Worthington and Jena Malone, among many others.
Reviews have been scathing.The Post called “Horizon” “an embarrassing, poorly told mess,” and added, “I could not fathom committing another 540 minutes of my time to this bloated ego trip.” The film holds a 40% critic score on RottenTomatoes.
Costner, who won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for “Dances With Wolves” in 1991, dramatically left the popular drama series “Yellowstone,” where he was making $1 million per episode, in part to shoot the passion project.
“I gave this thing five seasons,” Costner told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was really happy to do it. And I don’t need drama. So, let’s just take that drama away, let’s take the guessing [away]. The fans have been way too good to me. And my obligation is to go on and continue to make things that mean something to them.”
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2” will be released Aug. 16. Parts 3 and 4 do not have release dates yet.
