Chapter 2 isn’t coming out in August.
The release date for Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 has been delayed.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker’s Western sequel will no longer be released on August 16 in US cinemas given the first movie disappointed at the box office. A UK release will likely be postponed, too.
A new release date hasn’t yet been announced for the second Horizon movie, but producers have confirmed Chapter 1 will be released digitally on July 16.
A spokesperson for Costner’s production company Territory Pictures said: “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.”
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, which was released last month, was met with disappointing critical reviews that panned the film as “a three-hour prologue” to future movies as well as “convoluted, ambitious, intriguing, and meandering”.
The film’s underwhelming 48% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes likely didn’t help Horizon’s fortunes at the box office, where it has only made $24 million against a budget that was reported to be $50-100 million.
Costner – who financed a portion of the planned four-film series with his own money – responded to the film’s disappointing response by insisting he was satisfied with Horizon.
“I’ve lived with movies and what happens to them on their opening weekend,” Costner told Entertainment Weekly. “If we put so much pressure on that, we’re bound to be disappointed. I’m really happy that Horizon looks like what it’s supposed to look like, and that’s the way it’ll look the rest of its life. And that’s really important to me in this process.”
The filmmaker’s ambitious filming schedule on the first two Horizon movies was said to have played a role in his departure from Yellowstone in its final season.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is in cinemas now and will be released digitally on July 16.
