I’m surprised by how much of Horizon: An American Saga doesn’t even have Kevin Costner in it. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 finally hit theaters on June 28, 2024 after nearly a year of speculation and uncertainty about the massive Costner project. While there was certainly a great deal of confusion about whether Costner would be returning to his hugely successful Yellowstone series, the Academy Award-winning actor recently confirmed that he will not appear in future episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s show.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 had an underwhelming opening weekend at the box office, generating just $11 million against its reported budget of $100 million. With Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 set to be released in August, it could prove to be another unfortunate box office flop and put a major wrench in Costner’s plans for future sequels. The mixed reviews for Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 don’t help Costner’s case much as he will continue to rely on fans and audience ratings to extend his franchise’s potential.

Kevin Costner Isn’t Even In The First Hour Of Horizon: An American Saga

Costner had his hands full as star and director

With Costner playing such an integral part of the film as both its director and protagonist Hayes Ellison, it’s surprising that it takes nearly an hour into Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 before he shows up. Costner obviously had his hands full as both the star and director of the project, which also features a great cast of Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Ella Hunt, Jena Malone, Abby Lee, and Owen Crow Shoe. Still, with him being such a towering force in Yellowstone, I expected him to be in the whole movie.

Thanks to the 3-hour runtime of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, which makes it one of the longest theatrical releases of the year, audiences still get plenty of screen time from Costner in the final two hours of the movie. Many fans have applauded the longer runtime for its ability to chronicle the multitude of conflicts between the various characters and consider the 3-hour runtime entirely worth the price of the ticket. It could, however, be part of the reason why its box office is underperforming.

Kevin Costner Is The Main Star Of Horizon Chapter 1’s Final Two Hours

There’s no way Costner would not be the star of Horizon

After Costner’s Hayes Ellison character is absent for most of the film’s first hour, he then becomes the one who has the most screen time from that point on. Costner will likely continue to be the face of his epic Western franchise in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 and hopefully in his planned future installments, which include at least two additional sequels. With Costner putting tens of millions of dollars of his own money into his Horizon: An American Saga franchise, I hope the box office trajectory will change course.