The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 1997
Kevin Costner kept his 3-hour cut against the studio's wishes, and lost $62M
The Postman opened Christmas Day against Titanic on an $80M budget, closed at $27M worldwide, and swept five Razzies.
Warner Bros. · 1997-12-25
What happened
Kevin Costner produced, directed and starred in The Postman, a post-apocalyptic epic he financed and championed personally on an $80 million budget, following the earlier success of Dances with Wolves that had given him significant creative leverage over the project.
Warner Bros. reportedly pushed Costner to trim the film's bloated nearly-three-hour runtime before release, but Costner declined the cuts, keeping his preferred version intact against the studio's judgment.
The film opened on Christmas Day 1997 directly against James Cameron's Titanic, landing in ninth place at the box office. It closed with just $27 million worldwide against its $80 million budget, a loss exceeding $62 million, and swept five Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture.
Why it happened
- A director's leverage from a prior hit was allowed to override the studio's editorial judgment on runtime without a check.
- Releasing a three-hour post-apocalyptic epic on Christmas Day put it directly against the era's biggest blockbuster.
- Nobody tested audience patience for the extended runtime before locking the release date and cut.
- The studio's own concerns about the film's length went unaddressed because the director held final creative control.
The lesson
Creative control earned from a past hit doesn't guarantee good judgment on the next film — someone still needs the authority to say the cut is too long.
Aftermath
The Postman's failure significantly damaged Costner's standing as a bankable director for years afterward, and it became a standard reference for the risks of unchecked directorial control on passion projects.
Sources
- The Postman (film) — Wikipedia
- SlashFilm — The Colossal Box Office Flop That Almost Ended Kevin Costner's Career
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