The whole freakin’ point of Kevin Costner’s Horizon project is that it was a big theatrical event. From the jump, Costner announced his intent to make four movies, and invested more than $30 million of his own money to make it happen. New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. signed on to distribute for a fee with Costner covering marketing costs. In an attempt to match his boldness, WB announced it would release Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2 less than two months after the first film premiered. But then Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1 flopped at the box office, and now the original plan is out the window.
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Yes, Chapter 2 has been pulled from its August 16 release date at the agreement of New Line Cinema and Costner’s Territory Pictures, per The Hollywood Reporter. This is in order to “give audiences a greater opportunity to discover the first installment of Horizon over the coming weeks, including on PVOD and MAX.” Presumably, this means Chapter 2 could still end up in theaters at a later date. Turning Horizon into a singular theatrical event with back-to-back premieres turned out to be a bad bet, but the new strategy of letting Chapter 1 breathe is actually more in line with Costner’s vision. He’s been saying since the film premiered at Cannes that movies are more than their opening weekend numbers. His bet, as the person who owns the complete rights to the movies, is that the series will have a long life outside of the theaters.
Given that the third and fourth installments haven’t even been filmed yet, though, it’s still a really expensive bet. And according to THR, a lot of cinemas that offered audiences a chance to buy advance tickets for Chapter 2 now have to issue refunds. The whole last-minute shake-up doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, but Costner’s camp nevertheless remains publicly bullish about the endeavor. “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,” Territory Pictures said in its own statement. “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.”