Kevin Costner's 'Horizon' Saga: Box Office Disappointment Sparks Debate

The three hour film saga ‘Horizon’ by director Kevin Costner has sadly tanked the Box Offcie. It was released on 28 June 2024 in theaters in the USA. Despite Costner’s long-run formulation of the saga, the film only managed to earn $11 million, a drastic drop from the $100 million production value. Notwithstanding that, Michael Rooker who plays Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan in the movie, came to his defense, citing today’s “TikTokified” world.

Backstory

Kevin Costner’s first installment of ‘Horizon’ has backfired as the film only garnered $11 million Box Office earning. This was mostly a disappointment due to the fact that Costner had spent over twenty years and $100 million on it.

The veteran Yellowstone actor is set to release a planned four-movie collection named ‘Horizon’. It is a Western film that shows the civil unrest between the new settlers from Europe and the Apache natives.

When the weekend ending did not meet the mark, Michael Rooker, a ‘Horizon’ actor, came to the defense of Costner and the film, emphasizing that what matters is the content and not early weekend ratings.

‘Horizon’ actor Michael Rooker Defends Costner

The news site TMZ caught up with Rooker to ask about his opinions regarding the premiere of Costner’s movie. Michael Hooker is Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan in the movie “Horizon : An American Saga – Chapter 1”. The The actor vehemently stands up for both the film and the director. He lets us know that it is a ‘classic film’ and not your regular TikTok crap.

Hooker defends the opening claims, saying “We’re not used to that sh*t….Everything’ 90 minutes”. He admits that attention span of viewers are different now. Again, he believes that a classic like ‘Horizon’ should be given a try as “it is real cinema” unlike the now popular “TikTokified” works.

What does “TikTokified” mean?

TikTok is a very popular social-media platform that lets you post short-form video content, run businesses and connect with creators from all over the world. It was made by China, who uses their own version of it, named Douyin.

It has picked up popularity since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. From then on, it has become a staple in the phone of almost everyone. The app caters to all age groups but, like most popular socializing sites, it is more talked about amongst the youth. As of 2024, the duration of TikTok videos is between 3 seconds and 30 minutes.

However, it is a well-known fact that the most engaging videos need to be under seconds. The maximum a TikTok should have to touch the algorithm is about 30 seconds. This has created a whole new culture of glamourizing short-form content and resulting in short attention-span viewers.

Thus, TikTokified means “to reduce or shrink something that also diminishes its value”. Michael Rooker thinks that content nowadays are mostly TikTokified. “They got to get over that crap.”, he implores.

Its Costner’s Passion Project

Kevin Costner, earlier in his career had a blockbuster directorial debut with “Dancing With Wolves”. Even more, he won an Oscar for the movie. This time his design may not have the fruition he wanted.

Costner, the director, writer and actor of ‘Horizon’, has invested $38 million of his own to co-finance the movie. “That’s the truth. That’s the real number,” he told GQ. This had always been a passion project for him. In the movie, he stars as ‘Hayes Ellison’ alone-wolf  in the Wild West.

According to GQ, Costner is someone who is “prone to obssesion” whatever it may cost. It is also revealed that the script of the movie is older than his own son. In an interview with Deadline, Costner discloses that he commissioned the movie in 1988. He is stubborn and believed in his own vision. So, thereafter he started writing the story with a partner that ended up being four screenplays.

Costner’s investment in the $100 million-plus franchise has thrown his assistant into a conniption pit. But he is sure of his story and wants to bring it to the people, regardless of the financial risk. Costner had to mortgage 10 acres of land in Santa Barbara to help with the funding of ‘Horizon’. This saga is truly Costner’s magnum opus as he left the 2018 TV series Yellowstone to focus on his passion project.

What’s Next For ‘Horizon’?

‘Horizon : An American Saga’ is supposed to be a four part movie series. The first part, ‘Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1’ released on June 28th, 2024. The second film, i.e., ‘Chapter 2’ is slated to release on August 16. In his own words, Costner believes “in the life of the movie than the opening weekend”.

It would be no surprise to see Costner jumping back from this loss. For someone to spend half of their career into a production, it takes a lot of courage and power. Today’s audience may have uncertain reactions to classic films but its neither enough to break his zeal nor enough to bring down his determination.