Horizon's Rotten Tomatoes Score Is A Brutal Reality Check For Kevin Costner After Yellowstone Exit

Summary Horizon: An American Saga's disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score reflects badly on the film and Costner's decision to leave Yellowstone.

Audiences have high expectations for Horizon due to Costner's success in the Western genre, but initial reviews are not promising.

Horizon may have introduced too many plotlines in Chapter 1, lacking a clear focus, risking the success of the entire franchise.

Although Horizon: An American Saga has been described as Kevin Costner's passion project, the new Western film has garnered a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score, which not only reflects poorly on the movie, but also says a lot about Costner's decision to leave Yellowstone for this new film franchise. Horizon: An American Saga is a four-part movie experience following the expansion of the American West throughout the years of the American Civil War. The first movie in the Horizon saga, Chapter 1, premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and is slated to be released to audiences on June 28, 2024.

Expectations for Horizon: An American Saga have been fairly high for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, Kevin Costner's movies have been huge successes in the Western genre, most notably 1990's Dances with Wolves and the Yellowstone franchise. But more than that, Horizon has been an especially important project for Costner. It has been in development since the late 90s, and over the years, has become Costner's most coveted project. With so much time and dedication behind it, Horizon seemed on track to be a big hit, but its initial Rotten Tomatoes score unfortunately says otherwise.

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Related Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2 - Release Date & Everything We Know Kevin Costner's passion project is on the way but attention is already turning towards how the Western epic with Horizon: An American Saga 2.

Horizon's Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Only 30% - Much Lower Than Yellowstone

Horizon may be worse than Yellowstone

Horizon: An American Saga may have had high expectations, but it certainly hasn't met them, at least with critics. After being shown at the Cannes FIlm Festival, the movie garnered a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. To be clear, this is the overall score from critics, as audiences have yet to see the movie. But regardless, this is a fairly significant blow. This was not only Kevin Costner's passion project, but the franchise that he left Yellowstone for, right as the show prepared to finish out its final season. When comparing the projects, that move no longer makes much sense.

Where Chapter 1 of Horizon: An American Saga earned a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, Yellowstone has an 84%. Furthermore, its audience score is 76%. Based on this over 50% difference, it is clear that Yellowstone is much more lauded and appreciated than Horizon: An American Saga. To be fair, Yellowstone has had five seasons to impress audiences, and Horizon has yet to be released to audiences, but even then, the numbers are meaningful.

What they say is that Kevin Costner's controversial move from Yellowstone to Horizon: An American Saga may not have been the brightest choice in retrospect.

Why Horizon's Early Reviews Are So Negative

Horizon offered too much in too little time

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Horizon: An American Saga's negative Rotten Tomatoes score has a few big reasons behind it. First and foremost, the most common complaint about the movie is that it did too much without enough time to truly appreciate it. As the first installment in a four-movie epic, Chapter 1 provided a great deal of set-up, but without much room to let these storylines breathe or feel meaningful. In contrast, every character and location and plot was thrown at the audience in order for them to pick it up in the consequent movies. It made a better introduction than a first movie.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 3 is currently filming.

This unfortunate predicament is noticeable by watching the Horizon: An American Saga trailer. As many critics have complained, the movie doesn't seem to have any discernible plot. Instead, as seen in the trailer, Horizon seems to introduce a number of Western plotlines without actually settling on any of them. It is unclear what the movie is truly about, aside from just being a classic Western. Although this is only the first movie in a longer series, this lack of a plot does not bode well. It is an inauspicious start that could ruin the franchise before it even really begins.

Horizon's Rotten Tomatoes Score Shows How Big A Risk It Was For Kevin Costner

Costner sacrificed success for passion

Over the past year or so, Kevin Costner has been in the spotlight for his strangeYellowstone exit, and now, Horizon: An American Saga's Rotten Tomatoes score shines a new light on the situation. For months, it was unclear whether Kevin Costner would be returning to complete the final season of Yellowstone due to conflicts with showrunner, Taylor Sheridan. Horizon also played a factor in Costner's return. Ultimately, Costner decided to leave Yellowstone, forcing Yellowstone season 5, part 2 to end without its primary character, and though this seemed like a power move at the time, it has potentially backfired now.

In reality, Kevin Costner's Yellowstone exit was a huge risk. Costner may be an established actor, writer, and director, but even his projects can flop, and Horizon: An American Saga has proved it. While the new Western still has time to impress audiences and make up for its disappointing critic's score, at this point, it has become obvious that Costner may have given up something really good for Horizon.

Yellowstone is popular, successful, and financially secure. Horizon, on the other hand, may have been a poor investment depending on how the coming weeks turn out.

Why Horizon Could Still Succeed Despite Its Bad Reviews

Audience reactions are still important

Despite what critics have said about Horizon: An American Saga, the movie could still succeed. Although critic reactions are certainly important, they are not the end all be all of a movie. In fact, audience reactions are just as important as critics', and at times, are more signficant because they affect the movie's box office. If audiences enjoy Horizon, then its box office may completely overshadow the critics' bad reviews. And there's a chance audiences will enjoy it more than critics did. Where critics are more concerned with the logistics of a movie, many audiences simply want to be entertained.

Overall, Horizon: An American Saga had a disappointing start, but this is far from the end of the road. The movie still has to reach audiences, and when it does, its bad luck could completely turn around. Audiences could boost Horizon's Rotten Tomatoes score, and in turn, give it a notable box office performance. If this happens, then Kevin Costner's risk may pay off, and his new Western franchise could be a serious success, on par with Yellowstone. However, it won't be clear if this is going to happen until June 28, when Horizon: An American Saga finally hits theaters.