A year ago, when Kevin Costner and now ex-wife Christine Baumgartner were in the weeds on their divorce proceedings, one of Costner’s arguments for giving Baumgartner less monthly child support than she was asking for was that his income was about to go down. He had quit Yellowstone — where he was reportedly earning $3 million an episode — in order to film his passion project, Horizon. In fact, Costner had even mortgaged his Carpinteria mansion (that he previously shared with Baumgartner) in order to finance Horizon. After debuting in Cannes in May, my question was whether audiences would judge that the movie was worth the farm. Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 was finally released over the weekend, and, well, the farm may be in trouble. The movie under-performed at the box office and got scathing reviews. Who could’ve predicted that a civil war-era, three hour drama billed as part one of four would fail to draw people to theaters?
Academy Award-winning legend Kevin Costner’s western “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” put up a worse-than-expected performance in its opening Friday, growing only $4.1 million on its way to a disappointing opening weekend — coming behind two major sequels, including John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place: Day One,” which posted a franchise record in its premiere on Friday.
New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Horizon: An American Saga —Chapter 1” grossed $4.1 million at over 3,300 theaters in North America in Thursday previews and its Friday opening, Deadline and Variety reported, putting the three-hour Civil War-era western on pace to collect $11.3 million in its opening weekend.
That debut puts the weekend projection for “Horizon” below its initial $12 million estimate, a bust for Costner, who shoveled $38 million of his own money into producing the film, which has a reported $100 million production budget.
It also comes well behind the projected weekend box office total for “A Quiet Place: Day One,” which is predicted to take in $53 million over the weekend after a $22.5 million opening night.
“A Quiet Place: Day One,” the third in the horror franchise, beat out both of its predecessors in its premiere, over the $18.86 million the 2018 original grossed in its first day, and the $19.36 million “A Quiet Place Part II” made in its opening in 2021, according to Box Office Mojo.
Still, both movies fall short of Disney and Pixar’s sequel “Inside Out 2,” which is projected to make another $55 million to $59 million over the weekend at the domestic box office, adding to its massive $411.91 million U.S. gross since its release earlier this month — making it the biggest movie of the year.
Costner stars in and directs “Horizon” — a movie that’s been in the works for 30 years — much like he did with 1991’s “Dances with Wolves,” which earned him an Academy Award for best picture and best director, as well as a nomination for best actor in a leading role. … Despite audiences giving “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” a tepid 68% score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics on the site have been much more harsh, rating it a dismal 39%, making it one of the worst-reviewed movies of the year. Critics on Metacritic, meanwhile, scored the movie only slightly higher, at 46/100. The New York Times called the film — the first of a four-part franchise — “busy” and “decentered” with a “crowded cast” and “multiple story lines” that lack context in a nearly three-hour western. The Guardian added the movie feels “oddly listless” and “doesn’t get much done in the way of satisfying storytelling.”
If only ticket sales correlated to title length, maybe Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1; In Which Kevin Loses His House to the Bank (and a creative exploration in punctuation) could’ve had a shot! (Seriously, the title is abysmal.) Chapter 2 has already been filmed, not sure about films 3 & 4. As stated above, this has been Costner’s dream project for decades. Sometimes, though, you can be too close to something to accurately see what shape it’s in. The cast has talked about wanting to deliver for Costner, knowing how important this was to him, but I hope they don’t shoulder the blame for its poor opening weekend. This is Kevin’s baby, through and through.
Full disclosure: I didn’t see any of these movies over the weekend. I’ve been quarantining at home with Covid (the cough is a bitch! And damn, Paxlovid really does leave an intense metallic taste in the mouth). CB saw A Quiet Place and said it was ok, but not as good as the other two Quiet Place movies. Another friend of mine had the same review, and he went to see it Thursday night specifically so he’d miss another horror show playing at that time. I’m beyond thrilled for Inside Out 2 to win the box office. Go Amy Poehler/Joy! The first one was such a powerhouse, so I’m happy to root for the sequel even without having seen it yet. Which I will rectify, as soon as I can breathe without coughing and my mouth no longer tastes like a tin can. Those are the dreams on my horizon…
Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon, IMAGO/Dave Bedrosian / Avalon