<P> Development for A Million Ways to Die in the West began while MacFarlane and co-writers Sulkin and Wild were watching western movies during the development of Ted . Casting was done between December 2012 and March 2013 . Filming began on May 6, 2013, in various locations in New Mexico including Alburquerque and Santa Fe, and it concluded on August 9 that year . Joel McNeely composed the score and Media Rights Capital, Fuzzy Door Productions, and Bluegrass Films produced the film . </P> <P> The film was released on May 30, 2014, in the United States, and distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures . The film received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism directed toward the film's length and MacFarlane's performance . The film was number three at the box office during its opening weekend and grossed over $87 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million . It was released on DVD and Blu - ray on October 7, 2014, and earned more than $15 million in home media sales . </P> <P> In 1882, in the town of Old Stump, Arizona, a cowardly sheep farmer named Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) is dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) as a result of his withdrawal from a gunfight . He prepares to leave for San Francisco, believing that the frontier offers nothing for him . Meanwhile, infamous outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson) robs and kills an old prospector (Matt Clark) for a gold nugget . He orders his right - hand man Lewis (Evan Jones) to escort his wife Anna (Charlize Theron) to Old Stump to lie low while he continues his banditry . Lewis and Anna arrive in Old Stump under the guise of two siblings intending to build a farm, but Lewis is arrested after shooting the Pastor's (John Aylward) son (Dylan Kenin) in a saloon . During the ensuing fight, Albert saves Anna from being crushed to death by two of the brawlers, and the two become close friends . They attend a county fair where Louise's new boyfriend, the haughty Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), challenges Albert to a shooting contest . Albert is defeated, but Anna steps in and defeats Foy . Foy mocks Albert, who angrily challenges Foy to a duel in a week's time . Anna then spends the week teaching Albert how to shoot . </P> <P> During a barn dance the night before the duel, Anna slips Foy a Mickey . After leaving the dance, Albert and Anna kiss before heading home . Upon breaking out of jail and murdering the sheriff, Lewis witnesses the kiss and reports it to Clinch . On the day of the duel, Foy arrives late and goes into convulsions from the laxative he had unknowingly drunk . Albert, who has decided that Louise is not worth fighting for, once again forfeits the duel . He retires to the saloon, but Clinch arrives and demands to know who kissed his wife . When no one comes forward, Clinch shoots a nearby cowboy (Ryan Reynolds). He reveals that Anna is his wife and threatens to continue killing unless his wife's lover duels him at noon the next day . Clinch later forces Anna to reveal Albert's name and then prepares to have sex with her, but she knocks him unconscious and escapes . </P>

A million ways to die on the west