The first Horizon film, in which Costner plays a gunslinger in the Old West, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May. But it has seen low box office returns during its opening run, taking in about $25 million since its debut June 28. Costner’s passion project reportedly had a production budget of $100 million, and Costner said he personally financed $38 million by mortgaging his Santa Barbara, Calif., home and deferring his salary from the Horizon films. Costner has long been a fan of westerns, dating back to his other, more successful films, “Dances with Wolves” (1990) and “Open Range” (2003).
Some critics criticized Horizon as essentially a television series made for movie theater audiences and a chance for Costner to exploit his fandom from “Yellowstone,” a popular western TV series in which he starred. Critic Ty Burr wrote for The Washington Post that the first movie is mostly setup for future films without much action to warrant the 181-minute run time. Others denounced the on-screen relationship between Costner, 69, and his character’s love interest played by 37-year-old Abbey Lee.
Costner appeared to double-down on the potential of Horizon when he announced in an Instagram video in June that he wouldn’t return to the hit show “Yellowstone” so he could focus on filming future Horizon chapters.
“Kevin made this film for people who love movies and who wanted to go on a journey,” Costner’s production company, Territory Pictures, said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
The first two chapters of Costner’s planned four-part western saga were originally designed to be released in quick succession, with the first Horizon hitting theaters in June and the second in August. The third and fourth installments, though still in production, were expected for theater releases, too. Now, it’s unclear what will happen to the saga (though Costner has predicted all the films will end up on television in multipart installments).
Audiences who would rather watch the first film at home won’t have to wait long. New Line said “Horizon: Chapter 1” will drop on digital streaming and video on demand platforms on July 16. The film will also be released on the Max app, though a premiere date has not been announced yet.
But it’s unclear what’s next for any future Horizon flicks. Costner has confirmed that production on the third film has already begun, while the fourth chapter remains in limbo.
“There are currently no distribution deals in place for future Horizon installments,” a New Line spokesperson said.
Jada Yuan contributed to this report.
