The early reaction to Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga is bad news for another 2024 directorial passion project that, despite differences in story, has an extremely similar background. The first part of an expansive Western movie series, Horizon debuted at the Cannes Film Festival to a mixed response from critics. Ordinarily, this would be fairly unremarkable news – if slightly disappointing for genre fans. However, because Horizon has had such a tortured journey to the big screen, its performance is under more intense scrutiny – especially because of its perceived connections to another upcoming release.

Set during the American Civil War, Horizon is a four-part drama focusing on American expansion and the history of the western frontier. Directed and written by Kevin Costner, the movie also features the likes of Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, giving Horizon one of the most impressive casts of 2024. Despite this star power, however, Horizon is projected to perform poorly at the box office and has failed to impress critics, scoring just 38% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Not only does this reaction bode poorly for Horizon itself, but the rejection of the film’s scope and personal ambition is a bad sign for another project.

Horizon’s Disappointing Reaction Is Bad News For Megalopolis

The Two Movies Share Some Surprising Connections

Despite coming from two very different cinematic traditions, the disappointing critical and commercial reactions to Horizon are also a bad sign for Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited magnum opus Megalopolis. Unlike Horizon, Megalopolis is a surreal science fiction set in a bizarro New York City – blending together Ancient Roman history and modern politics into a single complex narrative. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to connect it to Costner’s understated and sprawling Western. However, the two movies have a surprising amount in common – to the extent that one’s fortunes can be used to predict the other’s.

Both Horizon and Megalopolis have been willed into being by the determination of their directors. Each film has been in development for decades and represents a very personal vision for both Costner and Coppola. They have also been largely self-financed, without the interference of major studios, and therefore represent an almost unadulterated version of the director’s vision. While this makes both films exciting, it also raises the possibility of both being overly self-indulgent and too focused on the director’s intent rather than audience appeal. Given that Horizon has been heavily criticized on these grounds, it follows that Megalopolis may fall into the same trap.

Megalopolis And Horizon Have Very Similar Backstories

The Connection Has Already Been Acknowledged

The bond between Horizon and Megalopolis is more than superficial. To highlight how closely Horizon and Megalopolis are connected, in 2023 both Costner and Coppola gave a joint interview (via Deadline) discussing the connection between their work – as well as their shared troubles with financing and bringing the projects to life. In a wide-ranging discussion, both Costner and Coppola emphasized their personal commitment to the two movies, the pressures of having to self-finance the production, and what it means to have sole “authorship” of the project. Costner revealed that “(My) story will speak loudly to Francis“, while Coppola explained:

…authorship only means the film is honest to the theme and the premise. It has to be personal, real; it can’t be a synthesis of what people have decided would be a good formula for a movie.

Coppola’s comments, and Costner’s tacit agreement, highlight how both filmmakers (and both Horizon and Megalopolis) are deeply personal affairs where the artist’s intent takes center stage. It therefore follows that if a movie performs badly, it is a refutation of both Costner and Coppola’s belief that personal autonomy and vision are paramount. The fact that Horizon‘s approach has already been refuted by critics seems to be bad news for this philosophy.

How Megalopolis Could Still Outperform Horizon

There Are Also Differences Between The Two

While looking at Horizon‘s critical scores is one way to assess Megalopolis‘ chances of success, the movie also deserves to be judged on its own terms. Crucially, Coppola’s sci-fi extravaganza has also been seen by critics, making an independent assessment of its merits essential. As of writing, the movie holds a marginally better Rotten Tomatoes score of 51%. While by no means spectacular, this does suggest that Megalopolis can perform better with audiences than Horizon, even if the two project’s backgrounds are remarkably similar.

It’s also important to consider the content of Megalopolis‘ story. Unlike Horizon, which has been criticized for essentially functioning as an extended set-up for the real drama to come in Part Two, Megalopolis is a self-contained narrative that offers completion for its audience. It may be the case that this makes more people compelled to see the film in theaters than they might be for Horizon. There’s no doubt that the two movies’ shared origin story and background make comparisons worthwhile. However, it’s also true that their similarities won’t be the only thing that determines their performance.

Source: Deadline