The upcoming instalment of Kevin Costner’s pricy Horizon franchise has been pulled from cinemas weeks before it was slated for release.
The Yellowstone actor spent years making his $100million Western flick, Horizon: An American Saga, a reality, with the first part hitting the big screen on June 28.
It was also a family affair for the 69-year-old, who cast his teenage son, Hayes, in one of the roles, beside Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Jamie Campbell Bower.
However, the film made just $11m at the US box office across the opening weekend and around $23.3m to date worldwide, leading to questions over the future of the remaining projects.
With just over a month until Chapter 2 is due to premiere, movie bosses have confirmed that it will no longer be coming out on August 16 as initially planned.
Instead, they confirmed that the first instalment will be available to stream earlier than planned, debuting on demand on July 16.
A spokesperson for New Line told the Hollywood Reporter in a statement: ‘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 US discover the film in its theatrical run.’
Territory Pictures added in a separate message: ‘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.’
According to the outlet, New Line’s parent company, Warner Brothers, have started notifying cinemas of the change – as many had offered advanced tickets for the sequel.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, to a 10-minute standing ovation.
Kevin wrote, directed and starred in the epic, which focuses on a family during the expansion of the American West – alongside Sienna and co.
He first wrote the initial story in 1988 and then decided to revamp the production into a mammoth four-part saga – he began filming the third chapter before appearing at Cannes.
The star put his money where his mouth is and put around $38million of his own money into the project.
‘I know they say I’ve got $20million of my own money in this movie,’ he recently told GQ of the financial risk. ‘It’s not true. I’ve got now about $38million in the film. That’s the truth. That’s the real number.’
‘I haven’t spent my life trying to make my pile grow bigger,’ he vowed. ‘I guess I could buy apartments and I could buy McDonald’s and I could buy a bunch of things and just grow, grow, grow, grow,
‘That’s the message I want my kids to understand about who I am: that I do what I believe in.
‘I have fear like everybody else. I don’t want to be humiliated.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros for a comment.
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