Kevin Costner Will Be Seething After Steve Carell Led ‘Despicable Me 4’ Beats His Epic ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ Despite Having the Same Budget

Despicable Me 4 outshone Kevin Costner’s Horizon at the box office, despite having same budgets.

Kevin Costner poured his passion and effort into crafting Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, but its box office returns didn’t reflect his commitment.

Meanwhile, Steven Catell starrer Despicable Me 4, produced on a similar budget, has exceeded expectations with impressive ticket sales.

Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (image credit: Warner Brothers).

The Independence Day holiday gave Costner’s movie another opportunity to redeem itself in the market.

However, Despicable Me 4 maintained its lead while Horizon made modest gains, showing limited progress on the scale of success.

Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 Fails to Capture Audiences

Kevin Costner, the Academy Award-winning legend, saw his western epic Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 underperform in its opening weekend, grossing just $4.1 million on its first day.

This disappointing start fell short of the initial $12 million estimate, despite Costner investing $38 million of his own money into the $100 million production, as per Forbes.

Despite being a passion project decades in the making, Horizon has been met with unfavorable reviews and lukewarm audience reactions.

Warner Bros. is not responsible for the film’s budget or marketing, which rests solely on Costner.

A still from Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (image credit: Warner Brothers)

The performance of the film at the box office has left the audience wondering about the future of the proposed franchise.

Warner Bros. plans to release the second installment on August 16th as part of a planned four-movie saga.

Meanwhile, Costner is already moving forward with production on the third film.

The disappointing box office performance of the first movie raises questions about Costner’s intentions for a potential fourth installment.

Despicable Me 4 Dominates Box Office with Horizon’s Budget

Meanwhile, another film with an identical budget has completely turned the tables. In just 48 hours since its release on July 3, Steve Carell‘s Despicable Me 4 has amassed an impressive $52 million, rapidly nearing its $100 million budget milestone, as per Variety.

Projections suggest the film could exceed $120 million over its five-day opening, boosted by a strong Fourth of July turnout.

Known for holiday success, the franchise’s past entries like Minions and Despicable Me 3 set high bars with earnings exceeding $1 billion and $900 million respectively.

Gru (Steve Carell) and Gru Jr. in Despicable Me 4, directed by Chris Renaud. |Illumination.

The 2024 summer box office season was initially expected to be lackluster, following what seemed like a slow year compared to 2023.

However, recent weeks have brought a dramatic turnaround, fueled largely by the exceptional success of Inside Out 2.

Originally anticipated to perform strongly, the Pixar sequel has exceeded all expectations, solidifying its status as an animation phenomenon.

With Despicable Me also entering the mix, animation appears set to dominate the summer box office landscape.

Both cinemas are playing in theaters.