Horizon Production Manager Michael Rooker Defends Film After Poor Box Office Start

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Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” franchise has had a disappointing start to the box office season, with the first of four planned films grossing just $11 million at the U.S. box office. “Guardians of the Galaxy” favorite Michael Rooker, who plays Sergeant Major Thomas Riordan in the Western epic, sat down with TMZ after the film’s disappointing opening weekend and urged moviegoers to get off TikTok and give “real cinema” a chance.

“This is real cinema, guys. Get ready. We’re not used to this kind of shit,” Rooker said. “We’re used to 90-minute movies. Everything’s 90 minutes long. Leave me alone. Forget this shit. Let’s watch a movie that tells a story, where you get to know people and you end up loving them or hating them. It’s not all fast and cut-and-cut.”

Asked if part of the reason for “Horizon’s” low attendance was that moviegoers have become “TikTok-ified,” Rooker said: “Absolutely. Of course they are. They need to get over this bullshit. They need to learn to watch real cinema, please.”

“Stop hanging around and go see the movie,” he added. “You’ll enjoy it. Go to the bathroom before you go.”

Costner had previously revealed that he spent about $38 million of his own money to finance “Horizon.” Warner Bros. paid only for distribution, meaning even the film’s marketing costs were paid for by Costner.

“I’ve lived with movies and what happens to them the weekend they come out,” Costner said. told Entertainment Weekly the day the first film hit theaters. “If we put that much pressure on it, we’re bound to be disappointed. I’m really happy that Horizon looks the way it’s supposed to look, and that’s the way it’s going to look the rest of its life. And that’s really important to me in this process.”

“Would I like this movie to be a huge success?” Costner added. “Of course I would like that. My ego would like that, everybody would like that. But I’m mostly happy that the movie that you and I are talking about is what I want it to be.”

Warner Bros. is set to release the second installment of the four-film Horizon saga on August 16. Costner, meanwhile, is currently busy filming the third film. It is unclear what impact the first film’s poor box office start will have on Costner’s plans for a fourth film.