‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2’ Pulled from Release

Following the poor box office performance of ‘Chapter 1’, plans are changing for the various follow-ups, which may end up riding off to a streaming sunset.

Director Kevin Costner in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Preview:

The next chapter Kevin Costner’s Western saga is delaying its theatrical release.
‘Chapter 1’ has stumbled at the domestic and worldwide box office.
Costner had filmed ‘Chapter 2’ with the intent of an August launch.

There was a big mix of kudos and concern when Kevin Costner announced that he was stumping up millions of his own money to finally get his giant Western passion project ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ to theaters after years of companies telling him the expansive story might work better on TV.

After blending his funds with mysterious other investors, Costner appeared to have scored a win when Warner Bros. agreed to distribute the first two of a planned four-chapter saga a couple of months apart. But now, following very disappointing box office results, ‘Chapter 2’ (which has already been shot), is now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, skipping theaters (or at least is delayed indefinitely).

‘Horizon’ at the box office

Kevin Costner as Hayes Ellison in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Unfortunately for Costner, his grand experiment has been largely met with shrugs from audiences.

‘Horizon: Chapter 1’, which boasts a sprawling cast, a $100 million price tag and a run time of three hours and one minute, opened to just $11 million over the June 28th weekend. It was an alarming debut for the movie, hampered by a poor B- CinemaScore and tepid reviews (a 43 percent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes). It fell 51 per cent in its second weekend to $5.4 million for a 10-day domestic total of $22 million.

And overseas, it has earned less than $3 million.

‘Horizon’: The Producers Speak

Kevin Costner for 'Horizon: An American Saga' at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.

New Line (the Warner Bros. arm that released ‘Part 1’ offered a statement:

“Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema have decided not to release ‘Horizon: Chapter 2’ on August 16th in order to give audiences a greater opportunity to discover the first installment of ‘Horizon’ over the coming weeks, including on PVOD and Max. We thank our exhibition partners for their continued support as moviegoers across the U.S. discover the film in its theatrical run.”

And that was backed up by a separate release from the movies’ production company:

“The audience response to ‘Horizon’, and enthusiasm for seeing our story continue in ‘Horizon 2’, has been incredibly gratifying. Kevin made this film for people who love movies and who wanted to go on a journey. The support that we have received from film fans, and the theater owners, as they experience the first chapter of this saga only serves to reinforce our belief in them and the films that we have made, and we thank them for coming on board for the ride. We welcome the opportunity for that window to be expanded as we know it will only serve to enhance the experience of seeing ‘Horizon 2.’”

Given that ‘Horizon’s first two chapters cost $100 million each to make, we do have to wonder what the forward trail is for this series. Costner, though, seems confident, with plans to resume work on ‘Part 3’ next month. He appears intent on sticking to the big screen concept, but there remains a chance that he’ll have to opt for streaming for more than one future installment.

Kevin Costner as Hayes Ellison in New Line Cinema's Western drama 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter One', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.