Fans of Kevin Costner’s made-in-Utah Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” — which weren’t too plentiful, based on the disappointing box-office results — will have to wait for the second chapter to hit theaters.
Costner’s production company, Territory Pictures, and distributor New Line Cinema announced Wednesday that they will put their planned Aug. 16 release of “Chapter II” of the proposed four-part movie series on indefinite hold, according to the trade publication The Hollywood Reporter. No new release date for “Chapter II” was announced.
“Chapter I” of the saga opened nationwide on June 28, and fared poorly in the North American box office, earning only $11 million its opening weekend — and a total of $22.6 million as of Tuesday, reported BoxOfficeMojo.com. The movie reportedly cost $100 million to make, funded by Costner and anonymous investors.
“Chapter I” also didn’t wow a lot of the critics. The movie scored 48% positive reviews from the aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, and an average rating of 48 out of 100 on Metacritic.com.
The new release plan for “Chapter II,” a New Line Cinema spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter, would “give audiences a greater opportunity to discover the first installment of ‘Horizon’ over the coming weeks,” via home viewing. “Chapter I” is scheduled to be released on premium video-on-demand (PVOD) on Tuesday, and streaming on Max at a time to be announced.
In a separate statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Territory Pictures called the audience response to “Horizon” “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.’”
The first installment was filmed largely in the Moab area, and the second film was shot mostly in Washington County. A large number of crew members, extras and secondary cast members were hired locally. Costner had scheduled to start shooting the third film this summer.
Costner is directing and co-writing the four-part saga, and plays a key role, a gunslinger who in the first installment tries to protect a woman (Abbey Lee) and a toddler from a vengeful family. Other major cast members include Sienna Miller, Luke Wilson, Jena Malone, Sam Worthington, Michael Rooker, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Danny Huston and Jamie Campbell Bower.