Kevin Costner has been left humiliated after his Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One ended it’s theatrical run by bombing at the box office. The movie cost $100 million to make, and only made $32 million in theaters.
To add insult to injury, the first part of the four-part saga was savaged by critics.
First Horizon Movie Bombs At Box Office
The first film in Costner’s planned four-part western series made just $11 million the weekend it debuted in theaters on June 28, according to Box Office Mojo. When it closed its theatrical run last week, the film’s gross domestic total was about $29 million.
Horizon: Chapter 1 made over $3.6 million internationally. This brings the movie’s worldwide box office total to just $32.6 million.
Costner, 69, reportedly spent $38 million of his own money to make this movie.
“That’s the message I want my kids to understand about who I am: that I do what I believe,” Costner told GQ in May when he was promoting the movie. “I have fear like everybody else. I don’t want to be humiliated.”
Related: Kevin Costner Hit With Crushing Blow As Horizon 2 Release Is Canceled After First Film Flops
Critics Slam Horizon
Unfortunately for Costner, however, critics slammed the first Horizon movie.
“I could not fathom committing another 540 minutes of my time to this bloated ego trip,” wrote the film critic for The New York Post. “It’s hard to believe Costner left Yellowstone to make such an embarrassing, poorly told mess.”
“There are more than 20 named roles scattered all over the place — the San Pedro Valley, the Montana Territory, the Western Santa Fe Trail — and viewers strain to care much for any of them, so bland and animatronic they all are,” he added.
Despite this, Costner has continued to defend the film.
“I’ve faced life with people being dismissive of me,” Costner told E! News last week. “But they can’t be dismissive of ‘Horizon,’ because now it’s out of their hands.”
Spoken like a true artist.
Related: Kevin Costner Breaks His Silence – Finally Addresses ‘Horizon’ Bombing At The Box Office
Costner Gets Good News About Horizon: Chapter Two
Costner went on to say that he is relieved that Chapter Two of Horizon has been given a premiere date at the Venice Film Festival of September 7.
“That was a nice development over there,” Costner said. “They understand that it’s a saga.”
“That part is exactly how I imagined it,” he added. “I didn’t ever imagine [the releases] six weeks apart, it was always four months, or six months. But the studio saw an opportunity, they thought it could be something. I don’t feel that anymore.”
Costner seemingly has no plans to abandon the next Horizon movies that he’s been preparing to make.
“I don’t really fall out of love with something I feel strongly about. Until somebody convinces me otherwise it needs to go in another direction, that doesn’t happen,” he stated. “I feel like my job is to bring something original to people. And it’s really hard to make a good western.”
This has clearly not been an easy time for Costner. It will certainly be interesting to see what comes of the next Horizon movies!
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