Western epics can either rise to the top or flop spectacularly, just ask Kevin Costner. After leaving his role as John Dutton in Taylor Sheridan‘s hugely popular Yellowstone, Costner set his eyes on a long-awaited passion project, as he directed, co-wrote, produced, starred in, and even largely self-financed Horizon: An American Saga. Intended to be split into four parts, the film installment was such a disaster at the box office that Chapter 2, which had already been filmed, was put on the shelf. What remains for the future of the series is unknown, but it’s worth noting that this is far from the first disaster of its kind.
Another came over 40 years before, as director Michael Cimino‘s Western epic Heaven’s Gate became one of the most infamous film flops of all time. Considered “cursed” today, the film was plagued with issues both on and off-screen, which eventually led to its failure. Going wildly over budget during production, Heaven’s Gate remarkably was so bloated financially that it bankrupted its studio, United Artists. At the 1980 box office, the film earned just $3.4 million worldwide, with most of this coming from U.S. theaters. This total was against a reported budget of over $40 million, making it one of Hollywood’s biggest financial disasters ever.
Going over budget is far from Heaven’s Gate‘s only mistake. There was also a major scandal surrounding the film’s production, as it was reported that horses were being killed or bled for authenticity, leading to understandable outrage from audiences. A major catalyst for the inclusion of “No animals were harmed” disclaimers in future productions, Heaven’s Gate at least had some positive impact on the film industry. 46 years later, if morbid curiosity is making you want to watch the film today, you may have a hard time finding it asHeaven’s Gate has officially been removed from the free streamer Plex as of today
Collider Exclusive · Taylor Sheridan Universe Quiz Which Taylor Sheridan Show Do You Belong In? Yellowstone · Landman · Tulsa King · Mayor of Kingstown
Four worlds. All of them brutal, complicated, and built on power, loyalty, and the price of survival. Taylor Sheridan doesn’t write heroes — he writes people who do what they have to do and live with the cost. Ten questions will reveal which one of his worlds you were made for.
🤠Yellowstone
🛢️Landman
👑Tulsa King
⚖️Mayor of Kingstown
01
Where does your power come from? In Sheridan’s world, everyone has leverage. The question is what kind.
02
Who do you put first, no matter what? Loyalty in Sheridan’s universe is always absolute — and always costly.
03
Someone crosses a line. How do you respond? Every Sheridan protagonist has a line. What matters is what happens after it’s crossed.
04
Where do you feel most in your element? Sheridan’s worlds are as much about place as they are about people.
05
How do you feel about operating in the grey? Nobody in a Sheridan show has clean hands. The question is how they carry the dirt.
06
What are you actually fighting to hold onto? Every Sheridan character is fighting a war. The real question is what they’re defending.
07
How do you lead? Authority in Sheridan’s world is never given — it’s established, maintained, and constantly tested.
08
Someone new arrives and tries to change how things work. Your reaction? Every Sheridan show has an outsider disrupting an established order. Sometimes that outsider is you.
09
What has your position cost you? Nobody gets to where these characters are without paying for it. The bill is always personal.
10
When it’s over, what do you want people to say? Sheridan’s characters all know the ending is coming. The question is what they leave behind.
Sheridan Has Spoken You Belong In…
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
🤠 Yellowstone
🛢️ Landman
👑 Tulsa King
⚖️ Mayor of Kingstown
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
Time Has Been Kind to ‘Heaven’s Gate’
Truly, given its terrible reputation upon release, Heaven’s Gate‘s public standing couldn’t get any worse. However, few would’ve expected that, 46 years on, some would consider it a misunderstood masterpiece. Today, and thanks to re-edits, Heaven’s Gate is considered an American classic and was even included in BBC Culture’s 2015 list of the 100 greatest American films of all time.
Heaven’s Gate is no longer available on Plex. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.
