Kevin Costner admitted that his film Horizon was not an “overwhelming success.”
The 69-year-old Yellowstone actor invested a large portion of his personal fortune in making the first in a series of epic Westerns, which he followed with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2.
He said at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where the sequel had its world premiere after its original August 16 release date was scrapped, which was delayed following the screening of Chapter 1, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and was released in theaters in late June.
Of the first installment, which received mixed reviews and only grossed $11 million at the box office in its opening weekend on a $100 million budget, he said: “It wasn’t an overwhelming success.”
But the Dances with Wolves star added optimistically: “I’ve done a lot of movies like that, which have stood the test of time.”
Kevin Costner admitted his film ‘Horizon’ wasn’t an ‘overwhelming success,’ as seen here at the 2024 Venice Film Festival
Kevin added that the studio behind Horizon initially planned to release the sequel six weeks after the first film’s release, before backtracking and deciding not to release it in mid-August.
But he added: “For me, this fits into my plan, which was always to want to release movies about five to six months apart.”
“And that would have allowed me to come to Venice. I would never have come to Venice, because they don’t show the film here if it has already been released.”
Kevin added that Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera was “the main reason” they were able to show the project at the Venice Film Festival and praised him for “bringing it here.”
She continued: “He gave me my dream and he didn’t let it be crushed. Damn, Venice keeps coming to my rescue.”
Kevin previously said on Instagram of his welcome to Venice: ‘I am indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey.
“It is with gratitude and emotion that I return to the Venice Film Festival. Long live cinema and all those who are willing to defend it!”
Horizon chronicles a multifaceted 15-year period of expansion and settlement of the American West before and after the Civil War.
The 69-year-old ‘Yellowstone’ actor invested a large portion of his personal fortune into making the first in a series of epic Westerns, which he has already followed with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, seen at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
He said at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where the sequel had its world premiere after its original August 16 release date was scrapped, having been delayed following the screening of Chapter 1, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and was released in theaters in late June, seen at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
He said of the first installment, which received mixed reviews and only made $11 million at the box office in its opening weekend on a $100 million budget, “It wasn’t an overwhelming success,” as seen at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The films feature an ensemble cast, with star director Kevin, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Giovanni Ribisi, Ella Hunt, Danny Huston and Luke Wilson also sharing the screen.
Chapter 3 of the film series began filming in May 2024. Chapter 4 is in development.
Costner financed the film himself, admitting to putting $38 million of his own funds into the project after spending decades trying to find a studio to make the film.
He even took out a loan using his house in Santa Barbara as collateral, after trying unsuccessfully for more than 30 years.