Well, wouldn’t you know it …
Some kind of vindication has occured for Kevin Costner and “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1.” The 3-hour western shot straight to the top of the VOD charts. Yes, ‘Horizon’ is #1, beating out some stiff competition from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (#2) and “The Garfield Movie” (#3).
Costner’s epic was supposed to be the first of a planned four-film series, but its poor showing at the box-office ($28M domestic) ended up postponing the second chapter’s August release. This led to Warner Bros releasing ‘Chapter 1’ only 18 days after its theatrical launch. Smart move.
The success of ‘Horizon’ on VOD means that there is, in fact, an audience for Costner’s 4-part series, but that it might not actually reside in theaters. What this VOD success could do is spark up some interest for the second chapter, but the question remains where and when it will be seen.
Last we heard, Netflix and Amazon had made offers to acquire all four films. Costner rejected both proposed deals. However, streaming is how I envision Horizon’s future to be. One of the streamers should pick it up and turn it into a 4-movie event. How about Paramount+ which is where Costner’s career was rejuvenated with “Yellowstone” — that would be a fitting home for ‘Horizon.’
It’s really sad to say this, but Costner’s hopes to turn ‘Horizon’ into a theatrical movie event have failed. I just can’t image all four of these films hitting theaters. There is a chance that they might get made, Costner’s mysterious backers seem to be helping out a lot, but a theatrical rollout is too risky. Streaming is the best and, possibly, only option to turn this franchise into a viable endeavor for all parties involved.