Summary
Horizon: An American Saga, directed by and starring Kevin Costner, follows a civil war between families, friends, and foes in the Old West - another Western project under his belt with similarities to his TV seriesYellowstone. Costner’s work on the television seriesYellowstonewas a major success, enjoying critical success and becoming a major hit with audiences. However,Horizon: An American Sagahasn’t made a similar impact, highlighting that the film falls short of the high bar thatYellowstonehas set.
Costner decided to leaveYellowstonein order to pursue doingHorizon: An American Saga- which now appears as a questionable gamble. The show’s accomplishments confirmed Costner as an unstoppable force in the Western genre, but the film has fallen short of replicating the show’s achievements on opening weekend.Costner’s confirmation of noYellowstonereturnhas broached discussions on whether he miscalculated how much of a challenge it is to try and create another successful project in the competitive territory of the Westerns. However, while this remains an open issue, it’s clear thatHorizonis unlikely to replaceYellowstonein the public consciousness.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 Ending Explained
Kevin Costner’s long-gestating passion project kicked off with the introduction of a sprawling list of locations and characters set in the Old West.
Horizon: An American Saga Is Not As Successful As Yellowstone
Despite both being Westerns,Horizon: An American Sagadid not match the success ofYellowstone, as the numbers from the opening weekend showed the film to be a flop. The first portion of the intended four parts ofHorizononly made a fraction of the film’s $100 millionbudget - $11 million, to be exact.Costner even contributed over $35 million of his own savings towards the film’s budget, his own funds being more than what the film made on its first weekend.
Yellowstoneis available to stream on Peacock.
Yellowstone, however, is a juggernaut on television that brought in almost 16 million viewers in its season 5 premiere. The contrast between the quality of the projects is significant, sinceHorizon: An American Sagafailed to make a strong impression and a lasting effect at the box office, makingCostner’s new Western struggle make hisYellowstoneexit worse.Yellowstone’s impressive and growing viewership emphasizes its dominance in the Western genre, drastically outshining the film in its debut.
Horizon’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores Are Well Below Yellowstone’s
The ratings forHorizon: An American SagaandYellowstoneemphasize a difference in reception in both audience scores and critical reviews.Horizondebuted with one of Costner’s worst Rotten Tomatoes scoreswith a 41% critical rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a mixed response. By contrast,Yellowstonehas a praise-worthy 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.7/10 on IMDb, reflecting widespread approval from audiences and critics.
The compelling character narrative and storytelling inYellowstoneset a high bar in the Western genre, one thatHorizonhas struggled to emulate and achieve in its three-hour runtime.
The differences in ratings reflect the gap in audience engagement and quality betweenHorizon: An American SagaandYellowstone. Thecompelling character narrative and storytelling inYellowstoneset a high bar in the Western genre, one thatHorizonhas struggled to emulate and achieve in its three-hour runtime. The stark contrast in ratings between the two projects clearly positionsHorizonas a brutal reality check for Costner after hisYellowstoneexit.
Horizon Might Struggle To Finish Kevin Costner’s Story
Unless the second movie in theHorizon: An American Sagafranchise has a substantial improvement from this first installment,it may be increasingly difficult - and unlikely - to have the needed funds and viewers for the next three films. Capturing an audience that’s tailored to the Western genre will bring in the necessary box office returns, and only then will the future of the franchise mend from its devastating performance on opening weekend.
The film faces challenges for the future sinceCostner’s intended four-movieHorizonfranchisehad a lackluster performance at the box office. The monetary reception hasn’t generated enough revenue to make up for the film’s budget -and box office prospects forHorizonare reportedly getting worse- so if the rest of the franchise follows in the footsteps of the first installment, then Costner’s vision might make his pockets empty. The financial shortfall casts a shadow of doubt on the franchise’s feasibility.
Kevin Costner’s new Western filmHorizon: An American Sagafails to replace the success ofYellowstone, the show keeping its place as one of the greats in the genre. Despite the flop on opening weekend, Costner stays true to his plan to keep the franchise alive for the forthcoming future. The question if the upcoming films will be successful relies on whether the franchise can capture the necessary audience to generate enough revenue at the box office to continue Costner’s vision.
