Kevin Costner Believes 'Horizon 1' Will 'Stand The Test Of Time' After Box Office Flop

Kevin Costner has finally admitted to the poor performance of the first installment of his "Horizon" film franchise.

While discussing the movie at the Venice Film Festival, the actor spoke about the postponement of the second film and said he was happy about the delay.

Kevin Costner has since praised artistic director Alberto Barbera for being the "biggest reason" the second film premiered at the film festival.

Costner is reflecting on his "Horizon" film franchise and the lackluster reception of the first movie. The actor recently spoke with reporters at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where the second film, "Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 2," had its world premiere.

During the conversation, Costner discussed why the second film's release was postponed from the original August 16 premiere date.

According to People Magazine, the actor attributed the shift to the poor performance of the first film, which premiered on June 28.

He said, "It didn't have overwhelming success," but didn't speak further on what contributed to the lack of attention from audiences. Costner also seemed to still believe in the film as he said, "I've had a lot of movies that way, that have stood the test of time."

Despite the poor sales of the first movie and the recent premiere of the second installment, Costner is already working on the next film in the franchise.

In May, while at Cannes, the actor confirmed that he's already filming the third installment in the Horizon series.

Costner revealed to the reporters at the Venice Film Festival that the studios initially decided to release the second film six weeks after the first movie. However, they changed their minds and scrapped the August 16 date.

On July 10, Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema announced the change of strategy for the second film.

Despite the postponement, Costner said he was happy with the result: "For me, it fell back into my plan, which was I always wanted to come out with movies about five-six months apart. And that was going to allow me to come to Venice."

He added, "I would have never come to Venice, because they won't show the film here if it was already out."

Costner also spoke about the Venice Film Festival's artistic director, Alberto Barbera, and praised his work on the film.

The "Yellowstone" actor said Barbera was "the biggest reason" the film was able to premiere at the festival and was thankful to him for "bringing this here."

He said, "He gave me my dream and didn't allow it to be squashed. F-ck, Venice keeps coming to my rescue!"

Costner also praised Barbera in an Instagram post on July 31, where he wrote about the festival hosting the second film's premiere and screening the first one just before that.

He stated, "I'm indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey. It is with gratitude and excitement that I return to the Venice Film Festival. Long live the movies and those willing to stand for them."

During a recent chat with E! News about the "Horizon" franchise, Costner shared that he is used to people being "dismissive" of him and his work but knows the film will have a lasting impact.

He said, "I've faced life with people being dismissive of me. But they can't be dismissive of 'Horizon' because now it's out of their hands. And they 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 shared that it's the kind of movie parents will be showing their children in years to come. He claimed it would help them "to understand that this is what their [ancestors] went through" and described the saga as "not just a Western, it's a history of migration and what they had to do to survive."

Costner isn't the only star from the Horizon film series to discuss the disappointing performance of the first film.

During an interview with TMZ, actor Michael Rooker spoke about the lack of ticket sales and how low audience attention spans contributed to it. The first film has a run time of three hours.

He said. "It's real cinema, folks. So be prepared. We ain't used to that sh-t. We're used to 90-minute movies. Everything's 90 minutes. Come on, give me a break. Get over that sh-t. Let's watch a movie that actually tells a story where you learn about the people, and you grow to like them or hate them. It's not all fast — cut, cut, cut."

When the news outlet's reporter stated that audiences might have become too "TikTok-ified," Rooker said he "totally" agreed with them. The "Walking Dead" alumni noted, "Of course they are. They gotta get over that cr-p. They gotta learn what it's like to watch real cinema, please."