Kevin Costner's $100 Million Western 'Horizon: An American Saga - Part 1' Faces Uncertain Future with Mixed Reviews and Low Opening Weekend Projections
Costner invested $38 million of his own wealth into the project and serves as producer, co-writer, director, and star.
Despite this, Costner remains optimistic about the film's success due to his 'Yellowstone' audience.
Kevin Costner's $100 million Western 'Horizon: An American Saga - Part 1' may only bring in $9-12 million during its opening weekend.
The film has mixed reviews with a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 51 on Metacritic.
On June 28, Kevin Costner's latest film, 'Horizon: An American Saga - Part 1', will hit theaters. The film, which is the first of a planned four-part series, is an ensemble-driven Western with a budget of $100 million. However, early tracking suggests that the film may only bring in $9-12 million during its opening weekend in around 2500 locations.
Costner, who serves as the film's producer, co-writer, director, and star, invested $38 million of his own wealth into the project. The film's lackluster tracking has caused some uncertainty about whether Warner Bros. will release the second part in August or send it straight to streaming. The third and fourth installments have already been shot but production was halted due to lack of funding.
Despite the mixed early reviews (38% on RT and 51 on Metacritic) and the film's length of three hours, Costner remains optimistic. He is banking on his 'Yellowstone' audience to show up on opening weekend, as he believes that tracking is not capturing his fan base which largely resides in the middle of the country.
Costner has a history of entertaining people despite initial criticism or underestimation. He invested his own money into the film to pursue his own vision of the West and financed a large chunk of the budget through foreign sales. Horizon: Chapter 2 is set to be released less than two months after Chapter 1, and Costner has already started filming on Chapter 3.
Kevin Costner invested $38 million of his own wealth into Horizon: An American Saga.
Horizon: Chapter 2 and two more films are planned in the series, with filming for Chapter 3 already underway.
Accuracy
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter One is tracking for a domestic opening of $12 million plus or minus.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter Two is scheduled to be released on Aug 6, 2023.
Deception
(70%)
The article contains selective reporting as it only mentions the low tracking for 'Horizon: An American Saga' and not the decent tracking for 'A Quiet Place: Day One'. This creates a biased perspective that favors 'A Quiet Place: Day One' and disparages 'Horizon: An American Saga'.
Insiders say Costner believes that tracking isn’t capturing his fan base, which largely resides in the middle of the country.
That’s not great news for Costner and those backing the independently financed Western, considering it cost $100 million to make before marketing and is being followed quickly by Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 on Aug 6.
The box office prospects for one of the summer’s biggest swings have appeared on the horizon. Kevin Costner’s big-budget Horizon: An American Saga hit tracking on Tuesday, with one major service putting its domestic opening at $12 million, give or take.
Fallacies
(90%)
The article contains an appeal to authority when it mentions the tracking numbers for the movies and the success of A Quiet Place. However, no fallacies were found that significantly impacted the overall quality of the article.
The box office prospects for one of the summer's biggest swings have appeared on the horizon. Kevin Costner's big-budget Horizon: An American Saga hit tracking on Tuesday, with one major service putting its domestic opening at $12 million, give or take.
A Quiet Place became a surprise hit in 2018 and catapulted Krasinski to A-list director status.
Kevin Costner invested $38 million of his own wealth into Horizon: An American Saga.
Costner has a track record of entertaining people despite initial criticism or underestimation.
Accuracy
Kevin Costner's film 'Horizon: An American Saga' premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 19, with the second and third parts set to be released in August and yet to set release dates respectively.
Critics panned the film ahead of its wide release on June 28.
Kevin Costner is holding out hope that fans will rally behind him upon Horizon's release despite dismal opening reviews.
Costner feels Hollywood is not showing him support for 'Horizon: An American Saga'
A large portion of the budget for Horizon: American Saga was financed through foreign sales.
Deception
(70%)
The article contains emotional manipulation and selective reporting. The author uses phrases like 'mighty blow to his ego', 'stings a lot', 'supremely annoying' to elicit an emotional response from the reader. The author also only reports details that support Kevin Costner's position, such as his past successes and the fact that he produced, directed, and starred in the film. They do not mention any negative reviews or criticisms of the film itself.
It's supremely annoying to him after all he's done for Hollywood and especially for the Western genre.
The critical beatdown he took in Cannes stings, it stings a lot
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to the audience's emotions by describing Kevin Costner as being 'supremely annoyed' and 'holding out hope' after his film received negative reviews at Cannes. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing the critical reception as a 'dismal opening', a 'mighty blow to his ego', and a 'critical beatdown'.
][The 69-year-old] is picking himself up off the floor following dismal opening reviews for Horizon: An American Saga, but he’s vowing it’s not over yet [[...]] The critical beatdown he took in Cannes stings, it stings a lot.
Kevin was warned by marketing execs that he could get hit in the press over this film, and that has now happened.
It’s supremely annoying to him after all he’s done for Hollywood and especially for the Western genre.
Bias
(95%)
The author expresses bias towards Kevin Costner by portraying him as a victim of Hollywood's criticism and expressing optimism that the fans will rally behind him despite the negative reviews. The author also implies that Hollywood is not showing Kevin love and support, which further demonstrates bias.
He is a man of faith and of hope and even if the town isn’t on his side, he’s got a track record of entertaining people by following his muse and sticking to his principles.
It's supremely annoying to him after all he’s done for Hollywood and especially for the Western genre.
What’s more irritating to Kevin is that he really doesn’t feel like he has the film industry behind him on this big swing, and he encounters naysayers at every turn.
Kevin Costner's film 'Horizon: An American Saga - Part 1' is projected to open between $9-12M in around 2500 locations.
The film cost $100M to produce, with Costner investing $38M of his own money.
If the first part fails, it is uncertain if Warner Bros will release the second part in August or send it straight to streaming. The third and fourth installments have already been shot but production was halted due to lack of funding.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(80%)
The author expresses their opinion on the anticipated opening weekend box office for Kevin Costner's 'Horizon: An American Saga - Part 1', stating that it is looking at a $9-12M opening. While not explicitly lying, this statement can be considered deceptive as it implies a certain level of certainty and finality to the numbers, which may not be accurate. The author also shares their opinion on the film's chances of success based on early reviews and audience reception.
The project was a major risk, and suffice to say, it doesn’t look good.
