Kevin Costner Breaks Silence on Disastrous 'Horizon' Box Office Performance

Kevin Costner has broken his silence after the disastrous financial performance of his passion project Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, which debuted in June to a measly $11 million opening weekend. It went on to gross $29 million domestically and a pitiful $3.6 million in international markets against a budget in excess of $100 million, of which Costner invested $38 million of his own money.

“I’ve faced life with people being dismissive of me,” the 69-year-old told E! News over the weekend. “But they can’t be dismissive of Horizon, because now it’s out of their hands.”

Bt despite the less-than-encouraging reception, Costner has no regrets about Horizon. The Bull Durham star said his detractors “might point to the finish line—well, this is what it did at the box office—but I know that this movie is going to play for the next 50 years."

Costner explained that his efforts to make the film, which date back to 1988, were about far more than financial gain. "There's a moment in time where you want [your children] to see this movie," he said. "To understand that this is what their [ancestors] went through. It's not just a western, it's a history of migration and what they had to do to survive. And I'm really proud of it."

Horizon: Chapter 2, the second in the proposed four-film series, was expected to debut on August 16. After the disappointing turnout for Chapter 1, distributors took Chapter 2 off of the release calendar. A new release date has yet to be announced, though the film will premiere on Sept. 7 at the Venice Film Festival.

Costner doesn’t regret that move, either, as it will give at-home audiences more time to discover the first film. When Horizon: Chapter 1 was released to VOD, the movie jumped to the number-one spot on charts. (It’s available for purchase, but not yet for rental.)

Costner has made a career out of such risky gambles. Dances with Wolves, which many thought would prove to be a Horizon-level flop, became a huge financial success and went on to win seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. The actor explained that critics have been quick to call his most iconic projects flops, recalling that some posited Field of Dreams would “disappear quickly.”

"It was so dismissive, that Field of Dreams would fade immediately," Costner said. "And we're still doing celebrations of it. Men and women, sons and daughters, it's stood the time of decades, now generations—and that's how I try to make movies. That's what I see for Horizon."

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is available to buy on Amazon Prime Video and other major rental platforms.