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HORIZON CHAPTER 2 Delayed After CHAPTER 1 Bombs

HORIZON CHAPTER 2 Delayed After CHAPTER 1 Bombs

By Movieguide® Staff

After a poor start at the box office for Kevin Costner’s passion project HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA – CHAPTER 1, Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema have decided to pull the sequel’s original release date — Aug. 16 — from the calendar.

The decision comes as a bid to allow audiences more time to see the first film — in cinemas, on VOD and on streaming services — so that a greater fanbase can be generated by the time the sequel premieres. Those who already bought tickets to the sequel will be able to receive a refund.

HORIZON was produced with an approximate budget of $100 million, and after two weeks of its theatrical release, it has only made $25,207,600 worldwide. 

“Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema have decided not to release HORIZON CHAPTER 2 on August 16 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,” a spokesperson for New Line Cinema said.

For Costner, who partially funded the production with $38 million of his own money, the outcome is undoubtedly less than what he hoped for. HORIZON is the first film of a planned quadrilogy, and Costner has stated, “Well, we have to make four because the story’s not over till the fourth one…I started filming the third one, shot three days. And now I have to figure out where I can get more money to finish it.”

HORIZON CHAPTER 1, which is rated R for violence, sex and nudity, has had a mixed reception from critics.

“The battles are uglier and more morally fraught than usual,” wrote Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post. Mark Kennedy, a critic writing for AP News, called it “a spectacularly unsubtle movie.” In a year in which five of the top 10 box office hits have been children and family-friendly films, it would appear that HORIZON is only palatable for a smaller audience. 

Movieguide® noted that its “impressive, spectacular vision” is unfortunately marred by “intense violence, strong foul language, a brief scene of nudity, and a partially depicted bedroom scene,” making it unsuitable for families. It would likely have performed better if it took out some of the foul language and violence, as Movieguide® often explains.

However, despite the slightly less than positive reception from critics, the film has found a more favorable reaction from audiences. On review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts a 71% Fresh audience score comprised of over 1000 reviews. And some reviews have stated high praise: Peter Howell (Toronto Star) applauded the film’s “glorious cinematography” and “standout performances,” and Helen O’Hara (Empire Magazine) called it “a throwback to the glory days of event-movie horse operas.”

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 CHAPTER 2 remains due for a theatrical premiere, so we can expect to hear a new release date in the future. In addition to still being available for viewing in theaters, CHAPTER 1 will debut home on Premium VOD July 16.

Movieguide® previously reported on HORIZON:

Kevin Costner wants his two-part western HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA to inspire audiences.

“Well, I think that we want to see these characters grow, you know. I saw the second one yesterday, and it’s just as good as the first one, if not better, and the truth is the next one gets harder. It doesn’t get easier for the people that went West,” Costner told Movieguide®. “I wanted to make that clear, but I also wanted to do it in an entertaining way. Entertaining meaning can you watch it and go, ‘Yes, I’m engaged in this.’”

The movie explores “the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many.”

The pioneers’ perseverance inspired Costner.

“I think that, you know, there was it was a promise, but there was no guarantee,” he said. “Most people headed West weren’t even equipped to know what they were going to run into. When they got out there, they realized that somebody else had been living there for thousands of years, so there was this conflict, cataclysmic clash of cultures, and it was one-sided. It was ugly, but I also recognize the resourcefulness of our ancestors who managed to just keep coming.”


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