Kevin Costner Horizon Box Office: Costner’s Expensive ‘horizon’ Is Dusty At The Box Office

But ticket buyers largely rejected Kevin Costner’s three-hour vanity project, “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1,” which was once considered a continuation of the old West movie series. Directly on the streaming service before managing to reach the big screen.

“Inside Out 2” from Pixar was on pace to collect $57.4 million for a three-week total of about $470 million in the United States and Canada, according to Sunday box office analysts’ estimates. The well-reviewed sequel is nearing $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide. No movie has reached the sales mark since “Barbie,” released in July 2023.

For the weekend, “A Quiet Place: Day OneDomestic ticket sales were expected to gross about $53 million — 30 percent more than pre-release analysts expected, based on surveys tracking moviegoer interest. “A Quiet Place: Day One,” which cost Paramount an estimated $67 million to make, stars Lupita Nyong’o as a cancer patient who, along with her cat, Frodo, must navigate a terrifying invasion by alien creatures with hypersensitive ears. is

Prequels are risky. Prominent misfires include “Furosa: A Mad Max Saga,” “The First Omen” and “Lightyear.” Fans already know what happens later in the story, which makes it difficult for studio marketers to generate excitement, and prequels often lack the stars who helped make the franchises popular in the first place. For instance, Emily Blunt headlined the first two “A Quiet Place” movies.

The strong showing for “Day One” is all the more impressive given that its studio, Paramount, has recently been caught in a tumultuous sales drama. The company’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, ousted a top executive, disputed the takeover offer and ultimately canceled the whole thing as the stock price plummeted. Despite that upheaval, Paramount’s movie team expertly eased “Day One” into the marketplace.

Mr. Costner’s heavily promoted “Horizon,” which cost an estimated $100 million to make and another $30 million to market, came in a distant third. It was on pace to earn $11 million, analysts said. (Theater and studio ticket sales are roughly split 50-50.) Mr. Costner was hoping that fans of the hit contemporary western series “Yellowstone,” especially in the middle of the country, would flock to theaters. It turned out to be a pipe dream.

Could “Horizon” find its footing in the coming weeks? Citing box office experts were not optimistic Poor reviews. Additionally, ticket buyers graded “Horizon” a B-minus in the CinemaScore exit poll, meaning word of mouth will be soft.

Warner Bros. will release the second chapter on August 16. Mr. Costner has already started making part 3 and has also announced a fourth installment.

Warner Bros. serves as a rental-only distributor, meaning the studio has no investment in the films and, therefore, no financial exposure. (The company would get a cut of ticket sales — about 8 percent — as a fee for its services.) To finance the project, Mr. Costner mortgaged real estate in Santa Barbara, Calif., and secured backing from private investors. He left “Yellowstone” to focus on “Horizon”.

“There are movies that break barriers, break the mold, and prove doubters wrong,” David A. said Gross, a film consultant Newsletter On box office numbers. “In this case, the mold is still intact: Westerns are not in fashion, and there are no successful theatrical Western series of the last 50 years.”