What’s to Blame for HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA’s Box Office Miss?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Kevin Costner’s new film HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA CHAPTER 1 hit theaters last month and didn’t get the box office numbers it wanted.
Over its opening weekend, the movie garnered $11 million. Some critics are calling the film an “all-out cinematic experience,” others, a “numbingly long, incoherent disaster.” Those who are part of the movie say it’s about the experience.
“It’s real cinema, folks. Be prepared,” actor Michael Rooker said of the movie’s three-hour run time.
“We’re used to 90-minute movies. Everything is 90 minutes. Give me a break,” he continued. “Let’s watch a movie that actually tells a story where you learn about the people and grow to like them or hate them. It’s not all fast and cut, cut, cut.”
He affirmed that audiences today are “TikTokified.” “They gotta learn what it’s like to watch real cinema,” Rooker added.
Critics are weighing in on whether HORIZON’s lengthy run-time is justified.
“It naturally entices the audience into wanting more,” Mike Reyes of Cinema Blend said. “By the time the tease for CHAPTER 2 arrived at the end, I was grinning ear to ear with excitement. So far, HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA presents itself as an all-out cinematic experience that tells a story so classically cinematic, it’s hard not to admire the results while waiting to see what’s next.”
James Mottram with Total Film rates the film 4 out of 5 stars, noting that “CHAPTER 1 is as unhurried as they come,” taking time to “relish in establishing characters who, in some cases at least, have much more story to tell.”
For some critics, though, the film’s “unhurried” nature is frustrating.
“Costner simply hasn’t shaped the material into any kind of distinct entity,” Nicholas Barber of the BBC wrote. “The various storylines barely get started before he presses the pause button. It’s like the tantalising pilot episode of a television series – but a pilot episode that drags on and on for three hours.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety added:
The real problem is the script (by Costner and Jon Baird), which is shapeless. It doesn’t weave these stories together; it stacks them next to each other like a series of cabooses. Yet I think the idea is that the design of it all will come into focus as we see Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 (later this year), and then, at some point, Chapter 3 (which is now scheduled) and maybe, if all goes according to plan, more chapters. I seriously hope not. I’m not sure how much juice there is to squeeze out of these characters, but even if there is some I don’t want to see movies turn into television.
Whether or not TikTok is to blame for HORIZON’s disappointing box office, social media does harm people’s ability to pay attention for long periods of time. Movieguide® reported:
Another issue currently plaguing younger generations is incredibly short attention spans. The study found that social media use is directly linked to problems with focus for numerous reasons.
Social media content is quick to consume, teaching children and teens how to take in an idea and move on to the next one quickly, reducing their ability to focus on a topic for longer. Social media also harms their focus as the constant barrage of notifications draws their attention away from their current task.
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