Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga and the Chance to Break His Record

The Epic Western Tale of Horizon: An American Saga

2024's upcoming Western, Horizon: An American Saga, has a very good chance at beating a Kevin Costner record held by a movie from 1990.

Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga shooting a rifle on a horse.

Horizon, which is set to focus on America's expansion before and after the Civil War, is being billed as a two-part theatrical event. Rather than release each part in separate calendar years, Horizon is taking a different approach, releasing Chapter 1 in June 2024, with Chapter 2 arriving just seven weeks later. While Costner is obviously the big draw as Horizon's lead character, the project's supporting cast is nothing short of noteworthy.

To fully pay off the immensity of the historical saga, Horizon features an impressive ensemble cast with notable names like Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Thomas Haden Church, and Jamie Campbell Bower. Granted, not many more details regarding specific character roles have been announced, but it's safe to say the cast is in good hands. Not only is Costner self-financing and starring in Horizon, but he's also directing the two-part Western. In fact, Horizon marks Costner's fourth movie as the director, with each being considered a Western. However, one of those stands apart from the rest.

Horizon's Chance to Beat Costner's Record

Costner loves appearing in Western movies, but he most recently served as the lead character John Dutton in Yellowstone for five seasons before his departure led to the conclusion of the original show. Before that, however, Costner had already made a name for himself in the genre through movies like Silverado, Wyatt Earp, and Open Range. Granted, Costner's most successful Western came in 1990 with Dances with Wolves, which to this day stands as his most successful non-superhero movie at the box office. Now, Horizon has a great chance to beat that record.

By taking Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Man of Steel out of the equation, Dances with Wolves sits atop Costner's filmography list, acquiring $184 million domestically and $424 million worldwide (via The Numbers). Though those numbers don't seem as impressive today, they were a massive feat in 1990. The box office was just one factor in the movie's accolades, including seven Oscar wins, including Best Picture, and widespread critical acclaim aimed at Costner. 34 years later, a new epic Western tale the size of Horizon can copy Dances with Wolves' success with Costner at the helm to take over the top spot.

How Horizon Can Become The Next Oppenheimer (With A Twist)

Whereas Dances with Wolves was a solo movie with a runtime of over three hours, Horizon is taking the risky release approach using a two-parter. Still, by the looks of it, Warner Bros. is ultimately hoping that Horizon will end up emulating the success of Universal's 2023 heavy-hitter, Oppenheimer. Similar to Oppenheimer, Horizon is examining a tumultuous time in US history while relying on a large ensemble cast to tell an expansive story across years. The hope is that Costner's Horizon can garner the same amount of intrigue compared to Oppenheimer's massive success at the box office.

That said, Horizon has a bit of an advantage since it's being split into two parts. Depending on the runtime for each chapter, this could appeal to those who considered Oppenheimer's runtime to be overwhelming. The fact that the two chapters are releasing within two months of each other could end up working in Horizon: An American Saga's favor since buzz will still be high by the time Chapter 2 arrives in August. More importantly, it's still considered one movie, giving Costner an even better chance at beating Dances with Wolves' box office.