Kevin Costner Says Reports About His Investment in Horizon are Incredibly Wrong as Rotten Tomatoes Critics Pan the Epic Western

The subject of exactly how much of his own money Kevin Costner has pumped into his upcoming latest Western epic Horizon: An American Saga has been debated many times recently, but it seems that rumors have been way off the mark. Costner himself finally put a figure on the amount he has personally put into the first movie of his planned four-film project – and it is significantly more than people believed.

Although there have been several reports that Costner remortgaged his ranch to be able to finance the movie, the previous suggestion was that he contributed $20 million to Horizon. However, this is something Costner himself has debunked, claiming that the amount is actually almost double that. In an interview with Variety, Costner responded to a question about the film’s finances by saying:

“I know they say I’ve got $20 million of my own money in this movie. It’s not true. I’ve got now about $38 million in the film. That’s the truth. That’s the real number.”

Horizon

Release Date

June 28, 2024

Studio

New Line Cinema, Territory Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros.

In all, the film has a budget of around $100 million, meaning that Costner has put in almost half of the money invested in the film’s success, along with two other investors who have not been named. This means that there is a lot of personal risk involved in the movie for Costner and his other investors, and currently it is hard to tell exactly which way things will go. However, Chapter Two is following in August, and production on Chapter Three is reportedly already underway. This means that Horizon could be a very costly venture if it fails to capture its audiences immediately.

Horizon Has Wowed the Cannes Film Festival, but Not Critics

Horizon: An American Saga unveiled the first of Costner’s four movies at the Cannes Film Festival to a rapturous 11-minute long standing ovation. However, the movie’s initial reviews on Rotten Tomatoes have not been exactly glowing. From the first 16 reviews, Horizon has struggled to a 31% Tomatometer score, with the overriding opinion being simply that the film is a completely dull borefest.

Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson even went as far as to say, “At least Horizon accomplishes one staggering feat: it makes one wonder if we were maybe a little too hard on The Postman.”

Meanwhile, the BBC’s Nicholas Barber complained:

“But a film – certainly a Western – needs to have a plot, a bit of credible characterisation, and a structure that preferably includes a beginning, middle and end. Horizon doesn’t have any of those.”

One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that Costner has captured some amazing sweeping visuals, and has an ambitious scope, but the majority also feel that the story lacks any real plot, leaving it to ramble its way across the Old West in a way that seems too piecemeal for many of those to have seen its premiere. There are, obviously, a few critics who have been more invested in Costner’s latest Oscar-contender, and he will be hoping that audiences feel the same way as this minority when the movie is released next month. One of these was Total Film’s James Mottram, who noted the film is “a rigorous and handsome drama, finely hewn by Costner and his cast, this is an absorbing ride into the Old West.”

Related

An Emotional Kevin Costner Apologizes to Cannes Audience After Horizon Premiere’s Epic Standing Ovation

Kevin Costner was close to tears as he addressed the Cannes audience after a standing ovation almost as epic as his Horzion movie.

The extensive cast list includes over 170 speaking roles, with the ensemble collective including Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, Tatanka Means, Jena Malone, Costner’s son, Hayes, Giovanni Ribisi, Glynn Turman, Tom Payne, Kathleen Quinlan, and Angus MacFadyen.