Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is finding success on streaming after a disappointing theatrical run. Written, directed, produced, and starring Kevin Costner, the Western epic hit theaters earlier this summer, grossing only $36.1 million worldwide and earning mixed reviews from critics. The performance of the first film was so bad, in fact, that Warner Bros. canceled plans to release Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, which was originally slated to bow in mid-August.
Now, however, data from Reelgood reveals that Horizon: An American Saga ranks as the tenth most popular movie on streaming in the U.S. for the week of August 29 – September 4. This marks the second consecutive week Costner’s film appeared on Reelgood’s chart, with the Western previously ranking fifth. Horizon now falls behind titles like Jackpot! (2024), The Union (2024), The Deliverance (2024), and The Watchers (2024). Check out the full top 10 list below:
What Horizon’s Streaming Success Means For The Franchise
There’s Still Reason To Be Concerned About Costner’s Western Saga
The Horizon: An American Saga ending teases that the story is far from over, with Costner having clearly stated his intentions to make four films in the saga in total. Chapter 2 has been completed, but the third film, which is at least partially filmed, has reportedly stalled due to the underperformance of the first movie. The second installment just recently screened at the Venice Film Festival, earning the same mixed reviews as its predecessor, which doesn’t paint a strong picture for the franchise’s future.
Variety reports that Chapter 1‘s budget is $100 million, while The Numbers has reported that it’s $50 million, with the $100 million having seemingly been split across the first two films. Either way, grossing $36 million makes the film a failure.
In the Chapter 2 cancelation announcement, Warner Bros. and Costner suggested the move was more of a postponement in order to give audiences more time to discover the first installment. Considering Horizon dominated VOD charts in July and is now performing well on streaming, this is presumably what is happening. It seems unlikely, however, that the film, which has only a 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, is winning over enough viewers to make the theatrical releases of later installments any more successful.
Our Take On Horizon’s Streaming Success
Costner’s Movie Should Have Been A Limited Series
With Horizon having occupied fifth place last week and tenth place this week, it’s likely that the film won’t appear on the next Reelgood chart. If Costner’s film can’t stay on the streaming chart for three consecutive weeks, there’s little reason to believe the sequels would fare any better theatrically. The second Horizon movie will probably release in theaters eventually, but there’s reason to doubt that the third and fourth films will, if they get made at all.
Horizon: An American Saga reviews criticized the film for feeling more like a TV show than a movie, and it probably should have been. If Costner’s project had instead been an eight-part limited series that landed on Paramount+ or another streamer, it may have fared better, and it definitely would have avoided being almost solely defined by its box office failure. Costner’s ambition is certainly admirable and there’s a lot in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 worth celebrating, but it’s not looking like the movie’s newfound streaming success will be quite enough to change the narrative.
Source: Reelgood
