Kevin Costner’s Horizon 2 removed from August release date

Kevin Costner’s gamble on Horizon: An American Saga has suffered a major setback.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 is being removed from its August 16 release date. Costner’s Territory Pictures and Horzion’s distributor, New Line Cinema, are pulling the plug on Chapter 2‘s August premiere to give audiences more time to discover and watch Chapter 1.

“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,” a New Line spokesperson said to THR. “We thank our exhibition partners for their continued support as moviegoers across the US discover the film in its theatrical run.”

Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 arrives on Premium VOD on July 16. It will stream on Max at a later date.

New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. are distributing Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 in theaters, with the latter’s new release date unknown. Chapter 3 and 4 currently do not have theatrical distribution.

Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 stumbled out of the gate during its opening weekend at the end of June. Chapter 1 grossed $11 million in its opening weekend, a troublesome figure for a franchise that carries a price tag of $100 million and counting. To date, Chapter 1 has grossed just over $23 million worldwide.

Chapter 1 is the first of four Horizon movies directed by Costner. The Yellowstone star reportedly used $38 million of his own money to finance Chapter 1. With Chapter 2 finished, Costner plans to resume filming on Chapter 3 in August. Chapter 4 is in development.

Horizon: An American Saga depicts expansion from 1861 to 1865 in the Old West. Costner headlines a cast that features Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Ella Hunt, Will Patton, Isabelle Fuhrman, Thomas Haden Church, and Kathleen Quinlan.