A U.S. premiere has been set for Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2. The movie is part of a planned four-part epic Western movie franchise co-written, produced, and directed by star Kevin Costner. While it was originally set to premiere on August 16, 2024, Chapter 1 dramatically underperformed when it premiered that June, grossing $38.7 million against its $50 million budget. This caused the upcoming Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 to be pulled from the release schedule in July, though it did have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2024.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has now officially announced that Kevin Costner’s Western sequel Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 will have its U.S. premiere on February 7 as part of their lineup. The 6:00 p.m. screening at the Arlington Theater will include a Q&A with Kevin Costner and will be preceded by a free screening of Chapter 1 at 2:00 p.m.

This will be followed on February 13 with an 8:20 p.m. screening of the behind-the-scenes documentary Beyond the Horizon at the SBIFF Film Center, which will include a Q&A with Costner and the documentary’s director Mark Gillard.

What This Means For Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2

A Wider Release Could Come Soon

This U.S. premiere for the Kevin Costner movie could indicate that its rollout is beginning again and that a wider release may follow soon. However, the audience response at its festival premiere may help determine the level of release that it ends up getting. While critics gave both movies Rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences responded significantly better to Chapter 1 than critics. If Chapter 2 follows that same pattern, the sequel could end up back on track. Below, see how both movies have performed on Rotten Tomatoes so far:

However, this still leaves the fates of the planned Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 up in the air. The former has only been partially filmed while the latter is still in development, so the critical or commercial failure of Chapter 2 following its U.S. premiere could put both тιтles in jeopardy in spite of Costner’s stated intentions to complete the quadrilogy. Nevertheless, the fact that Chapter 2 is finally moving forward in some way, six months after being pulled from theaters, could be a good sign.

Our Take On The Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 Premiere

Its Prospects Could Be Better Than Chapter 1

The fact that the movie has a festival date set could mean that producers have determined that enough time has pᴀssed for at-home viewers to find Chapter 1 after its box office drubbing. Kevin Costner has cultivated an at-home audience thanks to his starring role in the Taylor Sheridan neo-Western series Yellowstone, so the 2024 movie may have performed better in that venue. Should that be the case, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 could have a brighter future, though this does not necessarily mean it will have a robust theatrical run.

Source: Santa Barbara International Film Festival