kevin costner on the Santa Barbara International Film Festival red carpetImage via MediaPunch/INSTARimages
By
Jake Hodges
Published 55 minutes ago
In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.
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Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
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As the leading face of the hugely successful Yellowstone, Kevin Costner re-energized his recent career with a performance as John Dutton that now stands as one of his most famous. Despite stiff competition in a career stacked with memorable turns, John Dutton is one of the Hollywood icon's best. Thanks to this recent huge success for Costner, even if the box office run of the first part of his Western epic Horizon: An American Saga didn't quite work out, one of the biggest failures in his career doesn't seem quite as memorable.
That failure is Waterworld, a film that was the most expensive movie of all time upon its arrival in 1995, yet sadly disappointed many viewers and critics. Now, three decades on, those who have yet to see Waterworld will get their chance, as the big-budget sci-fi tale officially joins the ranks of Starz on December 1. Illustrative of the backlash the film received, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Waterworld earned just 59% from critics and 44% from audiences, with the consensus reading, "Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, Waterworld is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones." A synopsis of the movie reads:
"After the melting of the polar ice caps, most of the globe is underwater. Some humans have survived, and even fewer still, notably the Mariner (Kevin Costner), have adapted to the ocean by developing gills. A loner by nature, the Mariner reluctantly befriends Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and her young companion, Enola (Tina Majorino), as they escape from a hostile artificial island. Soon the sinister Smokers are pursuing them in the belief that Enola holds the key to finding the mythical Dryland."
How Bad Was 'Waterworld's Box Office Run?
Made for a reported production budget of around $175 million, with the film also encountering numerous production issues, the estimated total, including other costs, was roughly $235 million. With that in mind, it's safe to say that a total box office haul of just $264 million is an inevitable failure. Split between $88 million in domestic revenue and a further $176 million from overseas markets, the movie still finished 1995 as the ninth-highest-grossing title worldwide, with expectations likely set much higher.
Waterworld is streaming on Starz this December 1. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.
Waterworld
Like Follow Followed pg-13 Action Sci-Fi Release Date July 28, 1995 Runtime 135minutes Director Kevin Reynolds Writers Kevin ReynoldsCast
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Kevin Costner
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Jeanne Tripplehorn
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Jack Black
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Kim Coates
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