Kevin Costner Addresses Cancelled Horizon Chapter 2 Release Following Chapter 1's Poor Box Office

WIth the franchise's future in a state of limbo, Kevin Costner addresses Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2's cancelled release. Costner's four-part Western epic franchise got off to a rough start with Chapter 1's release in June 2024, where it only grossed $36.1 million against its $50 million production budget and saw a generally mixed reception from critics. While the second installment was planned for an August release, Warner Bros. pulled Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2's release, leaving it unscheduled as of the time of writing, though did bring it to the Venice International Film Festival.

In honor of its Venice premiere, Costner discussed Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 and the franchise's future during a press conference (per Variety). When asked about the decision to cancel the sequel's wide release, the co-writer/director/producer/star reflected that it "probably was a reaction" by WB to Chapter 1's box office underperformance:

It didn’t have overwhelming success. I’ve had a lot of movies that way, that have stood the test of time.

Costner would, however, go on to explain there to be a few upsides to Chapter 2's release cancellation, one being that he got to screen the sequel at Venice, which he "would have never" been able to do as the studio wouldn't have allowed him to do so "if it was already out". He also explained that it fit into his original release plan for the movie:

For me, it fell back into my plan, which was I always wanted to come out with movies about five-six months apart. And that was going to allow me to come to Venice. I would have never come to Venice, because they won’t show the film here if it was already out.

WB Is Evaluating Their Best Option For The Sequel's Release

Though the decision came as both shocking and understandable for those following the first movie's reception, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2's cancelled release certainly created concerns about Costner's plans for the rest of the franchise. The fact that the filmmaker indicates the decision came from the studio rather than himself does prove an interesting update, though, considering Costner himself confirmed he put $38 million of his own money into making the first two parts, which are estimated to cost a combined $100 million. As such, one would think he'd have some say over the movies' release plans.

Even still, with Costner saying that it was a "studio decision" to cancel the sequel's initial release, it seems clear that WB is evaluating their best options for when to releaseHorizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2. Beyond just production, the studio is the one footing the bill for marketing and putting the movies in theaters, subsequently requiring a better assurance that they will at least make their money back, if not hopefully also make a profit, from them. Despite the movie's box office struggles, Chapter 1 did become a hit on VOD, likely to have given them some confidence in the sequel.

What This All Means For Future Horizon Movies

Costner Has An Uphill Road Ahead Of Him

Costner may be confident about moving forward with his other two movies in the Western saga, but the future is really in a troubled state right now. The early reviews of Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2's Venice premiere have been mixed-to-negative, similar to those of Chapter 1's first reviews of its Cannes premiere. While audiences who gave Chapter 1 a 70% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes may be more weary to trust these reviews, it does spell a difficult road ahead for both Chapter 2 and future installments.

Even worse is the fact that Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 3's filming is currently stalled, with Costner assuring that he plans to finish it and potentially shoot Chapter 4 back-to-back in Spring 2025, while other reports indicate he is looking for the finances to complete the production. If Costner's vision is as bold for the remaining two movies as the first two, he will likely need another $100 million to shoot both Chapter 3 and 4, a big ask when considering how Chapter 1 fared at the box office.

The biggest thing that could boost the franchise's future is if WB moves ahead with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 in theaters. Considering Chapter 1 was sandwiched between the more family-friendly fare of Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4, as well as A Quiet Place: Day One's success, it would behoove the studio to aim for a less-crowded 2025 release window, with early November being a viable option to only pit it against the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Blade reboot and Now You See Me 3.

Source: Variety