The Colossal Box Office Flop That Almost Ended Kevin Costner’s Career

For some historical context, “Dances With Wolves” was not only an Oscar-winner, but it was also a massive box office success, taking in $424 million worldwide. That led to Costner starring in a string of hits throughout the early ’90s, including “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “JFK,” and “The Bodyguard.” The only real blemish on his record at the time was the nightmarish production of “Waterworld,” which became a highly publicized disaster. By and large, though, Costner was at the top of his game.

By the time Costner got involved, development on a film adaptation of “The Postman” had stalled out after years of little movement. (Brin, as it were, had originally envisioned Costner playing the lead character after seeing “Field of Dreams.”) As fortune had it, however, Costner not only signed on to star, but to also take over the director’s chair as well. As his second turn at the helm, all eyes were on the film. Brin, writing in his personal blog, explained that Costner threw out the earlier draft of the script that had been penned by Erik Roth:

“Kevin Costner came aboard, bringing all his might and prestige to the project. Though I was never consulted, he nevertheless agreed with my own impression — that an evil, incoherent and rapacious central character might be a bad idea! Instinctively realizing that the tale ought to be about decency, heroism and hope, he threw out all the dismal old drafts and hired Brian Helgeland, esteemed screenwriter of ‘LA Confidential.'”

Warner Bros. funded and distributed “The Postman,” with the film costing a hefty $80 million to make before accounting for marketing (or north of $150 million in today’s dollars when adjusted for inflation). That’s superhero movie money. Unfortunately for WB and Costner, it didn’t gross superhero movie money at the box office, nor were critics on the film’s side.

Indeed, “The Postman” carries a truly brutal 17% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. “A massive miscalculation in self-mythologizing by director and star Kevin Costner, ‘The Postman’ would make for a goofy good time if it weren’t so fatally self-serious,” to quote the website’s critical consensus. To make matters worse, the film also came out just one week after “Titanic,” which was on a record-breaking run at the box office. It spelled disaster, with Costner’s costly adaptation taking in barely over $20 million globally.