Kevin Costner is known for starring in some of the best westerns ever made, but his latest film, Horizon, is turning heads for the staggering amount of money the actor put into the film’s budget.
Horizon: An American Saga premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2024, to a warm but mixed reception. The Western epic, which the Yellowstone star directed, produced, and starred in, is about the residents of an American town following the Civil War.
In an interview with GQ, Costner squashed a long-running rumor that he’d put up $20 million of his own money for Horizon’s budget. He actually put up significantly more than that, he says.
“I know they say I’ve got $20 million of my own money in this movie,” Costner said. “It’s not true. I’ve got now about $38 million in the film. That’s the truth. That’s the real number.”
Horizon’s budget is reported in the realm of $100 million for the first two installments, which Costner financed with help from two as-of-yet-unnamed investors.
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At roughly $50 million a film, Costner’s budget for Horizon does line up with the rest of the Western genre, which usually costs $50-70 million. For comparison, 2012’s Django Unchained cost $100 million, and 2010’s True Grit only cost a reported $35-38 million. Costner’s last Western film, 2003’s Open Range, cost $22 million.
Horizon: An American Saga is a passion project for Costner, who has been trying to make the film since 1988. After years of false starts, Costner took the reigns of the film himself, expanding the planned single film into a four-part series.
The film stirred a marked response from the crowd, with a seven-minute ovation and chants aimed at Costner from those in the audience. However, Horizon itself got a mixed reception from critics, with one reviewer calling it “a clumsy slog.”
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 will have its theatrical wide release on June 28, 2024, with Chapter 2 releasing on August 16, 2024. For more exciting Western coverage, take a look at our guide for Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2. Or, find out why Kevin Costner was right to quit Yellowstone for Horizon.
