Highlights

• Costner made a fortune starring in a film that bombed, costing the studio millions.
• Despite being a flop, Waterworld found success in home media and live entertainment.
• Critically reappraised as a cult classic, the film still earned billions for Universal Studios.

Cinema pays the big bucks to those that can propel a film to box office glory. There are few stars that can do so, and because of this, studios will shell out tens of millions of dollars for their services.

Long before he was making a mint on Yellowstone, Kevin Costner was a major film actor capable of generating a considerable sum at the box office. Universal, no strangers to box office blockbusters, opted to pay Costner a massive amount of money for a film they felt would generate Jurassic Park-type money.

Sadly, this ship took on water before it was even released.

Let's take a look at how much Kevin Costner made to star in a film that lost $100 million at the box office.

Kevin Costner Made $14 Million For Waterworld, Which Lost $100 Million

Oh, to make millions while turning in shoddy work.

During the 1990s, Kevin Costner was riding a tidal wave of success, which meant that studios were willing to pay him tens of millions of dollars for his services. With that in mind, one studio opted to gamble on a picture called Waterworld, which came with a massive production budget, and a huge salary for Costner.

According to Yahoo, Costner pulled in $14 million for the picture.

Costner's salary was massive, and at the time, he was one of the highest-paid people in all of Hollywood.

Not only was Costner costing the studio a fortune, but the budget needed to bring the film to life, which included rebuilding a set that was sunk, was also gargantuan.

"The cost of the sinking set led to Costner investing $22 million of his own personal cash into the production," SlashFilm noted.

Once released, it was open season on the film's budget by tabloids, who could not help but be in awe at the sheer cost of production.

"'Waterworld," the most expensive movie ever made, opened this weekend and managed to stay afloat. But barely.

With a staggering $235 million cost, "Waterworld" is a symbol of Hollywood-style excess and ineptness, studio executives say," The New York Times reported in 1995 after the film fizzled at the box office.

The $235 million figure also factors in the marketing and distribution costs, which normally aren't included in what people see as a film's budget. Nevertheless, this was a massive undertaking for Costner and the studio. Even now, that's a big budget, and when factoring in inflation, it would be like studio dropping roughly $480 million now. That's some Marvel money right there, and this was for an original flick.

Despite its grand vision and innovative special effects, Waterworld struggled to stay afloat upon its release. Critics were divided, with some praising its spectacle and others criticizing its bloated runtime and lackluster storytelling. The film's underwhelming performance at the box office only compounded its troubles, failing to recoup its massive production costs domestically.

According to The-Numbers, the film only managed to make $264 million globally.

While this looks good on paper, this does not include what theaters get to take from the gross, meaning that the movie was unable to turn a profit at the box office. It's been reported for years that Universal ate a $100 million loss.

To date, Waterworld is considered one of the biggest box office bombs ever.

Waterworld Is Considered One Of Hollywood's Most Infamous Flops, But Has A Unique Legacy

In the wake of its disappointing box office reception, Waterworld quickly became synonymous with Hollywood's biggest financial flops. However, despite its initial setbacks, the film has since gained a cult following and found success in home media and international markets. Its legacy as a cautionary tale for Hollywood studios remains firmly intact.

Not only has the film played consistently on TV stations, but it also lives on in the live entertainment sphere.

"With good reason, too, as Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular has been key to Universal Studios theme parks ever since it debuted at the Hollywood site just a few weeks after the film was released. This attraction, which is one of the most popular rides at their locations in Singapore and Japan, too, has generated “billions in revenue” for the studio, according to Rader,' BBC reported.

Even critically, time and fans have been far kinder to the movie.

"And Waterworld has been critically reappraised in recent years, with The Guardian calling it a “cult classic in the making” and Forbes claiming that it is the “biggest box office bomb that wasn’t,'" BBC noted.

Waterworld will never be considered a classic, but it has a legacy of sorts. Despite it's failure, Kevin Costner still snagged $14 million, so it was no sweat off his back.