Can Kevin Costner pull off his craziest career move yet?

For the past six years, Kevin Costner has been the look of Yellowstone, the wildly fashionable occidental bid that earned him astir $2 cardinal per episode. This twelvemonth helium abruptly quit, to produce, prima and nonstop successful thing that sounds incredibly akin to Yellowstone: a multipart Western diagnostic movie called Horizon.

If that sounds a bold, risky and downright bizarre move, that’s due to the fact that it is. But it’s besides par for the course. Over Costner’s 40-year career, the actor/director has helmed and starred successful respective films that were deemed untouchable by studios, specified arsenic Dances with Wolves, and spectacular costly failures similar Waterworld. Not lone has helium backed them creatively, helium has besides made a wont of injecting his ain wealth into them.

Kevin Costner is nary alien to large projects, but is the Horizon bid a measurement beyond?Credit: Compiled by Marija Ercegovac.

He’s nary alien to risk, but could the Horizon saga beryllium his craziest gamble yet?

What is Horizon, and wherefore is it crazy?

In May, the 69-year-old Costner told GQ helium had truthful acold funnelled astir $56 million of his wealth into Horizon, a four-part sprawling Western acceptable successful the Civil War era. The archetypal 2 chapters are complete, with Chapter One successful cinemas and Chapter Two premiering successful August. The saga volition beryllium astir 12 hours agelong and could outgo Costner about $149 million of his ain money.

Is helium being excessively ambitious?

Costner, who has been navigating the movie manufacture since the aboriginal 1980s, is well-versed successful ambition. After a rocky commencement to his movie career, having had each his scenes chopped from The Big Chill successful 1983, helium managed to rapidly ascent the ranks of Hollywood, starring successful a drawstring of palmy films similar Silverado, Bull Durham and Field of Dreams.

By the clip helium directed his archetypal film, Dances with Wolves successful 1990, helium had already cemented himself arsenic a dependable each American leader and was acceptable to instrumentality immoderate originative risks. Dances with Wolves, which explores the narration betwixt a Civil War worker and a Native American tribe, was initially dismissed by studios fixed dwindling involvement successful westerns. Costner invested implicit $4 cardinal of his ain wealth into the $28.5 cardinal film. It paid off, with the movie grossing implicit $636 million globally and winning 7 Oscars, including champion representation and champion manager for himself.

In galore ways, Horizon mimics Dances with Wolves: they’re some costly occidental epics that attracted minimal involvement from studios. Given the unexpected occurrence of the latter, possibly Costner is hoping for a repeat. However, Horizon consists of 4 films, meaning quadruple the outgo and selling efforts.

Some risks person flopped

In 1995, helium starred successful and produced the post-apocalyptic movie Waterworld, which had the biggest fund successful Hollywood astatine the clip (over $262 million, excluding selling costs). The accumulation was plagued with issues, including a sunken acceptable pursuing a hurricane. Costner reportedly invested astir $32 cardinal into the rebuild and agreed to forgo his information of the movie’s profits. Waterworld lone grossed astir $396 cardinal globally and was labelled by immoderate arsenic “Kevin’s Gate”.

The Postman, a 1997 sci-fi flick that Costner directed and starred in, was likewise disappointing, grossing lone about $31 million from a $119 cardinal budget. Next, Costner saw immoderate occurrence with Open Range, a occidental that was erstwhile again directed by, starring and produced by himself.

Kevin Costner’s The Postman dwindled astatine the container office.Credit: Warner Bros.

Could Horizon pay off?

Whether his latest favored task pays disconnected remains uncertain. Following Horizon: Chapter One’s premiere astatine Cannes, immoderate critics described it arsenic a “numbingly long, incoherent disaster” and a “clumsy slog”. It opened to lone astir $16 million successful the US (where it premiered connected June 28), a dismal fig compared to its $149 cardinal accumulation budget.

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However, Costner has stressed this doesn’t warrant failure. It could inactive bash good connected video-on-demand and different location amusement pursuing its theatrical tally (it volition watercourse connected Stan, which similar this masthead is owned by Nine, successful September).

“I ain [Horizon] for the remainder of its beingness ... Every 5 years, licence them astir the world. Re-license them present successful America. The quality is I ain that, due to the fact that of the hazard I’ve taken … Why are studios there? It’s due to the fact that those movies proceed to marque money, good beyond their opening weekends,” Costner precocious told Deadline.

The 3rd and 4th Horizon films haven’t secured backing oregon organisation yet, but Costner said helium plans to push forward. Whether they get a wide theatrical merchandise whitethorn beryllium connected however the archetypal 2 tracks. But if his past indicates anything, Costner volition spot it done careless of however brainsick it seems.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One is successful cinemas now.

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