Stephen King Defends Kevin Costner's 'Horizon' 'Failure'

Stephen King has spoken out in defense of Kevin Costner, after the Hollywood actor's latest movie Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, opened to disappointing numbers over the weekend.

Set during the settlement of America's Western frontier, the films span a 15-year period that covers before and after the Civil War, with each movie aiming to be a separate story with links to the others.

The film, which was released on June 28, is the first in what was originally planned to be a four-part Western series. Chapter 2 is set to open on August 16. Horizon is the first project Costner has directed since Open Range in 2003, which was also a Western.

While Horizon boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Haden Church, it took in just $11 million across North America on its opening weekend, per Box Office Mojo.

On Monday, renowned author King weighed in on the reaction to the movie's poor opening in a social media post, hitting out at those he accused of celebrating its box office "failure."

"Schadenfreude is 'taking pleasure in another's misfortune.' It perfectly describes many reactions I've read to Costner's HORIZON," King wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Why in God's name would anyone luxuriate in the failure of a film that isn't a sequel or part of the, God save us, 'Marvel universe?'"

Author J.D. Barker agreed with King, saying of Costner: "He squeezed blood from rocks to get this made. Without public support, that kind of passion for filmmaking will vanish. Soon there will be nothing but Marvel."

Tomer Rozenberg, another author, commented in response to King's post: "It's puzzling why some revel in others' setbacks, especially when it comes to original films like Costner's HORIZON."

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Costner via email for comment.

The project was a big financial risk for Costner who, according to The Hollywood Reporter, invested $38 million of his own money in the $100 million project, in which he stars, directed, co-wrote, and produced.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie screened in May, Costner explained why he put his own money into the project.

"I don't want to let this pile of things I have—whether it's money, whether it's [possessions]—be so important to me that I can't think about what I want to do," he explained. "I'm going to keep enough things that my family's going to be good. ... I'd like to have money, I'd like to have nice things, but I thought to myself, 'That's going to control me if I let it.'"

Horizon focuses on both settler groups and the Native Americans that call the land their home—themes that are similar to that of the TV series Yellowstone and its prequels 1883 and 1923.

"It's a really beautiful story; it's a hard story," the actor told Variety in June 2022. "It really involves a lot of women, to be honest. There are a lot of men in it, too, but the women are really strong in Horizon. It's just them trying to get by every day in a world that was impossibly tough."

Many have believed that the Western project played a role in the sudden end of the fan-favorite show, Yellowstone, in which Costner starred. Paramount said Costner refused to shoot more episodes, but the actor has refuted this claim. He said that the studio wanted to alter his contract because show creator Taylor Sheridan was delayed in writing the script.

"There was no script. And then things imploded. You've been reading one version [of the show's drama] for a year and a half," Costner told Deadline.

"I have taken a beating from those f****** guys and I know a lot of times where it's coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong."