In the spring of 2024, shortly after production on “Horizon” wrapped, Costner took the first film to the Cannes Film Festival. There were, sources say, concerns the movie wasn’t ready for exhibition and needed more time for testing. But Costner, true to form, took the film — and some of its cast — to France anyway, screening it out of competition, where it failed to wow many critics (at the time, Rotten Tomatoes gave it only a 27 percent rating based on the early reviews). It did, however, receive a 10-minute standing ovation, which reportedly brought Costner to tears. ⁠ ⁠ A month later, on June 28, 2024, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 was released in theaters and pulled in just $11 million during its opening domestic weekend, a box office disaster nearly as horrific as Waterworld and Heaven’s Gate. It ultimately grossed just $38.7 million on a $100 million budget — although, as Costner’s spokesperson points out, it was HBO’s top film on the platform when it streamed in August 2...