Netflix Officially Adds Kevin Costner’s Infamous $264M Sci-Fi Flop
Netflix has added Waterworld, Kevin Costner’s 1995 science-fiction adventure, to its catalogue, where it is now appearing in the streaming charts. The film is notable for its troubled reputation as a major box-office disappointment, but its renewed visibility gives audiences a chance to reassess a costly and unusual post-apocalyptic blockbuster three decades later.
Set on an Earth entirely covered by water, the story follows Costner’s drifter, the Mariner, as he protects Helen and a young girl, Enola. Enola may hold the secret to finding “Dryland”, making her a target for the Smokers and their leader, the Deacon; the film reportedly cost $264 million.
- Waterworld is now charting on Netflix.
- The 1995 film stars Kevin Costner.
- Its plot centres on finding Dryland.
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Waterworld is a 1995 science-fiction adventure set in a future where melting ice caps have left the Earth covered by ocean. It follows the Mariner, a lone sailor played by Kevin Costner, who becomes involved in protecting a woman and a girl believed to know the location of land.
Costner was one of Hollywood’s biggest film stars at the time, having recently appeared in Dances with Wolves and The Bodyguard. The film was directed by Kevin Reynolds and featured Dennis Hopper as the Deacon, leader of a pirate group known as the Smokers.
The production became widely known for its high cost, difficult filming conditions and extensive use of water-based sets and action scenes. Its financial performance made it a symbol of the risks involved in large-scale Hollywood productions, although it later gained a following through home entertainment and television screenings.