LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Yellowstone’ star Kevin Costner, riding on the success of movies including ‘JFK’, ‘The Bodyguard’ and ‘Dances With Wolves’, collaborated with his long time friend and collaborator director Kevin Reynolds (they already made the movie ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ together) for one of the costliest movies of that time, ‘Waterworld’. The movie released in 1995 only to become one of the biggest flops of all time. But what was the reason for the film to be so costly?
The Universal production, that was predominantly filmed on water, had Costner play the role of a man with gills in a dystopian future on earth where the snow caps had melted, raising the water level. Costner played the role of a lone drifter named The Mariner, who grudgingly assists a girl and her guardian who may hold the key to the legendary Dryland. The film also stars Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Tina Majorino in pivotal roles.
What was the budget of ‘Waterworld’?
The original budget for ‘Waterworld’ was $65M, which was increased to a then-massive $100M as the concept for the picture and the need to make it as realistic as possible grew.
Three weeks into filming, the set was destroyed in a hurricane, thus escalating costs. The process of rebuilding the sets, as well as other production delays, extended what should have been a 96-day shoot to 157 days. Consequently, the budget was raised to $135M before finally settling on a record-breaking $175M when the film was completed. Back in the mid-’90s, $175M was unheard of for an original film with no franchise ties, reported Screen Rant. Sources told Los Angeles Times, “Unlike filming on land, anything you do on water is just more difficult. The wind is constantly changing,” adding, “If you are lining up a shot, things are always moving, they are never going to stay in the same place.”
Not only was the budget of the film huge, the production also failed to make a mark at the box-office. Even though the film managed to open with a whopping $88M domestically, it failed to impress critics, who found the characters uninteresting and the pace of the movie slow. However, the box office run slowed down to make the movie accumulate just $264M. Still the movie could have been considered a hit, hadn’t it been for the huge cost incurred during the film’s shooting. It should also be noted here that the production house spent another $65M for marketing and distribution.
Kevin Costner and Kevin Reynolds’ feud
The financial woes were not the only problems that plagued the movie. The Reynolds directorial also suffered various misfortunes during its pre-production days, and many of them were credited to Costner’s antics. Costner and Reynolds were at loggerheads due to creative differences which led the latter to leave the project during post-production with Costner finishing the editing. The animosity between the duo became so deep that Reynolds once remarked, “In the future Costner should only appear in pictures he directs himself. That way he can always be working with his favourite actor and favourite director,” reports New Zealand Herald. However, the film credits Reynolds to be the solo director.
During the filming of the movie, Costner was reportedly linked with a gorgeous married Hawaiian hula dancer. During that time, he was also married with two children. Days after news of his alleged affair broke, Costner and his wife filed for a divorce, reported the same outlet.