Kevin Costner's 'Horizon 2' Removed From August Theatrical Release As First Film Flops

Kevin Costner has made the difficult decision to postpone the release of "Horizon 2" from its scheduled August date.

The news was announced by the production companies Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema, who said it would give "Horizon 1" more time to build its audience appeal.

Since its release, "Horizon: Chapter One" has performed poorly at the box office and received negative reviews from film critics.

Kevin Costner himself has a huge investment in the film series, as he put personal funds into its budget and left his role in "Yellowstone."

Kevin Costner has postponed the release date of his Western film "Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 2" from its scheduled date of August 16.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was removed from the release calendar for the year after the first film, "Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1," performed poorly in its theatrical debut in late June.

After discussions between the production and distribution companies, Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema decided to postpone the second film. This would give the first film more time to grow its audience base and lead to better numbers when Chapter 2 finally drops in theatres.

To help with audience growth, Costner and New Line Cinema will release Chapter 1 to home audiences through Premium VOD on July 16 and later on MAX.

The film will also remain available to watch in theaters for the time being as they work on marketing and promotion.

A spokesperson for New Line announced the news of the film's postponement.

"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," the spokesperson said.

They added, "We thank our exhibition partners for their continued support as moviegoers across the US discover the film in its theatrical run."

Territory Pictures also released a separate statement on the postponement. It read, "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 1" opened in theaters over the June 28-30 weekend and earned just $11 million, a shockingly low number. The film, which has a run time of three hours and one minute, had a $100 million budget and was expected to rake in bigger numbers.

Unfortunately, "Horizon 1's" debut was affected by a poor B- CinemaScore and negative reviews from film critics. By its second weekend, the film's earnings fell by another 51 percent to bring in $5.4 million and a 10-day domestic total of $22 million.

"Horizon 1" also failed to attract viewers overseas and only earned less than $3 million so far. The second film cost about $100 million to make, and Costner plans to resume filming the third film later this year. However, he needs to build an audience if the subsequent films are to do any better.

Costner himself has taken a massive gamble with the "Horizon" film series.

The actor reportedly put up about $38 million of his personal funds into filming for "Chapter 1" and raised the remaining funds by selling off foreign rights and bringing in two mystery investors.

Costner also got Warners and New Line to agree to market and distribute the first two films in the series for a reasonable fee, and the actor himself was the poster boy for marketing.

He was so determined to work on the films that he left his iconic role in "Yellowstone" to focus on his commitments to "Horizon."

The star of the hit Paramount Network series "Yellowstone" took to social media in June to share an update on the reprisal of his John Dutton character on the show.

"An update for you guys. I'll see you at the movies," he captioned the video post.

"I want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on 'Horizon' and doing all the things that's required, and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realized that I'm not going to be able to continue Season 5B or into the future," he said.

Costner continued, "It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won't be returning and I love the relationship we've been able to develop and I'll see you at the movies."