Why Did Horizon Flop at the Box Office? The Edit Killed It

He pitched it as a grand, sweeping Western to kick off a four-part theatrical saga. Instead, it landed in theaters like a wet saddlebag and is now one of 2024's biggest box office faceplants.

So… what happened?

A Miniseries Masquerading as a Movie

Here's the thing: Horizon was never supposed to be a movie. Costner originally conceived it as a prestige 12-episode streaming miniseries — basically his answer to 1883. Then, somewhere along the way, it got chopped into four theatrical "chapters," the first two filmed back-to-back.

Chapter 1 is essentially Episodes 1 through 3, stitched together into one film — with edits made just to get Costner on screen earlier. What started as three clearly defined arcs got turned into a clunky, timeline-jumping mess.

One Utah insider said it plainly:

"This is really one miniseries, 12 episodes long. Chapter 1 is basically Episodes 1, 2, and 3, chopped apart and interwoven to bring Costner on screen sooner."

So instead of a structured narrative, the film jumps from wagon trains to miners to settlement collapses with little setup — leaving audiences confused and critics cold.

Scenes Missing, Context Gone

The editing didn't just jumble the pacing — it cut entire performances. One actor claimed he filmed four or five scenes that were completely erased. Other viewers estimated that over two hours of footage didn't make the final cut.

The result? A movie that plays like a three-hour trailer for something you're not watching. Viewers who streamed it later on Max — in chunks — reported that it was way easier to follow that way. One summed it up:

"I watched it on Max over a few days. That made it easier to follow."

The Utah Gamble That Didn't Pay Off

Costner's split from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan seemed to light a fire under him. He wanted to prove he could build his own Western empire — with full control. Utah officials were eager too: after losing Yellowstone to Montana, they gave Horizon tens of millions in incentives and welcomed a proposed Costner-led studio in St. George.

But things didn't go according to plan. After a lukewarm premiere at Cannes, local Utah theaters barely promoted the film. One early viewer said they were the first ticket sold for their screening — days before opening weekend.

Box Office Breakdown

The financials are rough. Chapter 1 reportedly cost between $100–150 million, including Costner's personal $38M investment. Opening weekend was a bust. Theaters started bumping it to smaller screens immediately. Some reported projection and formatting issues that made the viewing experience even worse.

Audiences weren't kind. Comments ranged from "boring and dumb" to "pure masturbation." One viewer put it bluntly:

"Too long, too confusing, and Costner isn't the box office draw he was 20 years ago."

Can It Be Saved?

Maybe. Some suggest that a streaming re-edit into the original episodic format — à la Baz Luhrmann's Faraway Downs — could salvage the material. But for that to matter, Chapters 3 and 4 would still have to get made… and after Chapter 1's faceplant, that's a very big "if."

As one commenter put it:

"By returning to the original format and having a smidge of patience, we actually have a good saga. Right now, it's just a confusing, over-long theatrical movie."

Until then, Horizon stands as a cautionary tale: no amount of ambition (or cowboy hats) can save a miniseries pretending to be a movie.