“I Always Regretted That”: Kevin Costner Reflects On Wyatt Earp & Tombstone’s Fierce Competition 30 Years Later

Summary Wyatt Earp's release near Tombstone didn't help, but the movie's basic flaws would still exist if postponed.

Critics found Wyatt Earp lacking, due to its length and overstuffed story, despite Costner's star power.

Costner's Dances With Wolves success couldn't save Wyatt Earp from being a flop, regardless of its release timing.

Kevin Costner reflects on the decision to release his Western epic Wyatt Earp just six months after Tombstone, expressing regret about the choice. Costner's Oscar-winning Dances With Wolves established him as a major creative force within the venerable Western genre, leading to high expectations for his 1994 film Wyatt Earp. Released just six months after another Earp movie, the Kurt Russell-led Tombstone, Costner's film stumbled at the box office, a major disappointment for the star.

Thirty years after Wyatt Earp flopped at the box office, Costner has expressed misgivings at the choice to release the movie so soon after Tombstone, saying he regrets that the two films were seen as being in competition. Check out his remarks below (via GQ, around 31:24 of the clip):

I love Wyatt, or I just love that movie. We got into a level of competition with Tombstone. A good friend said, "Look, we can postpone this movie. We don't wanna compete." And I said, "Look," I said, "I'm sure this writer, director wants to make this movie, let them." And then this kind of space race started. And I always regretted that there was this kind of weird competition, and it was a fun movie, Tombstone, but it's too bad it went the way it went.

Why Postponing Wyatt Earp Would Not Have Saved It

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

Tombstone came out in late 1993, going on to gross $72.3 million on a budget of $25 million. Released in the summer of 1994, Wyatt Earp cost $63 million to make, but only grossed $56 million. Those numbers could indicate that it was indeed a mistake for Costner and director Lawrence Kasdan to release their Earp film so soon after Tombstone, but in fact, postponing the movie for another year would not have saved it, because Wyatt Earp is simply not a good movie.

Movie Title Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Box Office Budget Tombstone December 25, 1993 73% 94% $73.2 million $25 million Wyatt Earp June 24, 1994 32% 61% $56 million $63 million

Critics were harsh in their assessment of Wyatt Earp, as reflected in the film’s 32% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was simply too long, clocking in at 190 minutes, and too overstuffed with story. Waiting an extra year to release the movie, without making significant cuts, would have done nothing to fix its basic flaws, or make it more attractive to audiences, or indeed change the reality that it was too expensive in the first place. That Tombstone was tighter and more engaging only served to point up Wyatt Earp's flaws, which would have existed regardless.

Wyatt Earp is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video

Warner Bros. and director Kasdan also arguably over-estimated Costner’s box office clout at a time when his Dances With Wolves shine was already wearing off, a situation that would not have been helped by pushing the film back another year. Costner may indeed think that competing with Tombstone took away from Wyatt Earp’s box office, but in truth, the over-indulgent film, made at a time when his own box office heat was dissipating, likely would have been a flop no matter what.

Source: GQ