Edgar Wright’s highly anticipated reboot of The Running Man, starring Glen Powell and based on Stephen King’s dystopian novel, stumbled dramatically at the global box office with a disappointing $28.2 million opening weekend (November 14-16, 2025)—falling catastrophically short of the $110 million production budget and pre-release projections that anticipated $23-25 million domestically alone. The film opened to $17 million domestically across 3,534 theaters and $11.2 million internationally across 58 territories, finishing second behind Now You See Me: Now You Don’t ($21.3 million) and signaling one of the most significant box office disappointments of 2025 for a major studio release from acclaimed director Wright, whose previous films Baby Driver ($227 million worldwide) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World achieved cult status despite modest commercial returns. The underwhelming performance arrives despite enthusiastic endorsements from Arnold Schwarzenegger (who starred in the 1987 original adaptation), Tom Cruise, and Stephen King himself, who declared Wright’s version superior to the original film, alongside a marginally fresh 64% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score and strong 80% audience rating suggesting positive word-of-mouth that failed to translate into ticket sales. Industry analysts attribute the failure to multiple converging factors: oversaturation of dystopian action thrillers, Wright’s biggest budget representing a creative mismatch with his kinetic indie sensibilities, insufficient marketing differentiation from the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle, Glen Powell’s star power proving inadequate to open big-budget action films despite recent successes in ensemble casts (Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters), viewer fatigue with Stephen King adaptations following The Monkey‘s modest $69 million global haul earlier in 2025, and unfortunate timing placing the film between major holiday releases (Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2) when audiences conserve theatrical spending for guaranteed crowd-pleasers.
Box Office Breakdown: A Catastrophic Opening
Domestic Opening Weekend (November 14-16, 2025): $17 million across 3,534 theaters | Per-Theater Average: $4,809 | International Opening (5-day): $11.2 million across 58 territories | Worldwide Total: $28.2 million | Production Budget: $110 million (excluding marketing costs estimated at $50-70 million)
Daily Breakdown (3-Day Weekend):
– Thursday Previews: $1.9 million
– Friday (Day 1): $6.51 million
– Saturday (Day 2): $6.17 million (5% drop from Friday)
– Sunday (Day 3): $4.32 million (30% drop from Saturday)
Break-Even Analysis: The film requires approximately $270 million worldwide to achieve profitability (covering production budget plus marketing costs, distributor fees, and exhibitor shares). The current $28.2 million opening represents just 10.4% of the break-even threshold, making commercial success mathematically improbable without extraordinary legs or international resurgence.
Box Office Ranking: #2 domestic (behind Now You See Me: Now You Don’t with $21.3M), #4,718 all-time worldwide box office ranking
Cast, Director, and Creative Team
Director: Edgar Wright | Previous Work: Baby Driver ($227M worldwide), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Last Night in Soho | Budget Milestone: $110 million represents Wright’s biggest budget by far, exceeding Baby Driver‘s $34 million
Screenwriters: Edgar Wright, Michael Bacall (Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World collaborator) | Source Material: Stephen King’s 1982 novel (published under pseudonym Richard Bachman)
Lead Actor: Glen Powell as Ben Richards | Previous Success: Top Gun: Maverick ($1.49 billion worldwide), Twisters ($371 million worldwide), Anyone But You ($219 million worldwide) | Star Power Assessment: Powell’s box office track record primarily consists of ensemble casts where his individual draw remains untested as solo lead
Supporting Cast: William H. Macy as Molie, Lee Pace (prominent role), Emilia Jones (introduced in second half), Daniel Ezra as Bradley, Katy O’Brian as Jenni, Josh Brolin (supporting role)
Critical Reception and Audience Response
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 64% Certified Fresh (marginally fresh) | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 80% (strong positive reception) | Critical Consensus: “An enjoyable popcorn thriller that stops short of crossing the finish line”
Positive Reviews Highlights: Critics praised Glen Powell’s “charismatic” and “emotionally deep” performance as desperate everyman Ben Richards, Edgar Wright’s signature kinetic action choreography and slick editing style, faithfulness to Stephen King’s original novel (unlike the 1987 Schwarzenegger adaptation), anti-authoritarian themes and social commentary, vibrant visual design of the dystopian game show, and entertainment value despite narrative shortcomings.
Roger Ebert Review: “The relentless pace generates enough of an endorphin rush to power the movie beyond plausibility nitpicking. It also prevents the audience from probing its worldview too closely, up to a point… Although this adaptation of King’s book is dirtier and nastier than the 1987 film version, it’s not much more insightful about the nihilistic emptiness and cruelty of modern life. The more distance you get from it, the more it falls apart.”
Critical Reservations: Reviewers noted the 133-minute runtime felt bloated with “overwritten dialogue” and “pacing issues,” the screenplay “fails to deliver a truly profound message” despite setting up anti-authoritarian themes, character development outside Ben Richards remains thin (particularly Sheila, his wife), and the finale “didn’t win me over” with ideas that “needed to punch harder.” Several critics observed Wright’s stylistic flourishes work “good” but don’t achieve the “wow” factor of his previous films, suggesting the $110 million budget constrained his creative freedom rather than enhanced it.
Comparison to 1987 Original: Critics generally agreed Wright’s version is “darker, more grounded, and closer to King’s original vision” than the Schwarzenegger action spectacle, which earned 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the original film achieved greater cultural penetration and became a cult classic despite weaker reviews, suggesting faithfulness to source material doesn’t guarantee commercial or cultural success.
Why The Running Man Failed: Multiple Converging Factors
1. Budget Mismatch with Director’s Sensibilities: Edgar Wright’s strengths lie in kinetic, tightly controlled indie-budget action comedies where his auteur vision remains uncompromised. The $110 million budget—triple his previous highest—likely imposed studio interference, marketing considerations, and creative constraints that diluted Wright’s distinctive voice while inflating expectations beyond what his niche fanbase could support.
2. Glen Powell’s Unproven Solo Star Power: Despite recent ensemble successes, Powell has never opened a big-budget film as solo lead. His $219 million romantic comedy Anyone But You succeeded through counter-programming and word-of-mouth rather than opening weekend strength. Action audiences apparently don’t perceive Powell as bankable action star in the Tom Cruise/Dwayne Johnson/Jason Statham mold.
3. Marketing Failure and Brand Confusion: Paramount’s marketing campaign failed to differentiate Wright’s adaptation from the 1987 Schwarzenegger film, creating confusion about whether this was remake, reboot, or sequel. Trailers emphasized generic action sequences rather than Wright’s distinctive style or King’s dystopian social commentary, failing to communicate compelling reason to choose Running Man over competing releases.
4. Stephen King Adaptation Fatigue: Audiences demonstrated exhaustion with King adaptations following The Monkey‘s modest performance earlier in 2025 ($69 million worldwide on $11 million budget). While The Monkey achieved profitability, it signaled diminishing appetite for King properties unless they’re elevated horror (It, Doctor Sleep) rather than action thrillers.
5. Dystopian Genre Oversaturation: The marketplace remains saturated with dystopian action thrillers following Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, and countless streaming originals. Audiences require extraordinary differentiation to justify theatrical investment in yet another “survival game show” narrative, which Running Man failed to provide despite Wright’s pedigree.
6. Unfortunate Release Timing: Opening mid-November positioned Running Man between major holiday releases Wicked: For Good (November 22) and Zootopia 2 (Thanksgiving weekend), when families and casual moviegoers conserve theatrical spending for guaranteed crowd-pleasers rather than risky R-rated action films.
7. Competition from Now You See Me: Now You Don’t: The third Now You See Me installment offered familiar franchise comfort and ensemble star power (multiple A-listers vs. Powell solo), capturing audiences seeking escapist entertainment without dystopian bleakness.
Historical Context: Comparison to 1987 Original
1987 Version (Arnold Schwarzenegger): Opening Weekend: $8.1 million | Inflation-Adjusted: $23.2 million (roughly equal to 2025 reboot’s $17M) | Worldwide Total: $38.1 million | Budget: $27 million | Cultural Impact: Achieved cult status despite modest box office and critical reception (59% RT)
Ironically, Wright’s version opened to nearly identical inflation-adjusted numbers as Schwarzenegger’s original, despite vastly superior marketing resources, Wright’s acclaimed directorial reputation, and 38 years of brand recognition. The parallel suggests audiences simply don’t hunger for Running Man stories regardless of execution quality.
Future Outlook and Lessons Learned
Industry analysts project The Running Man will struggle to reach $50 million domestically based on historical precedents of November releases opening in the $15-20 million range. International performance remains crucial, though early returns suggest similar weakness abroad. The film faces catastrophic financial losses exceeding $100 million when accounting for production and marketing costs.
For Edgar Wright, the failure represents a harsh lesson about budget escalation and studio filmmaking constraints. His most successful films (Baby Driver, Shaun of the Dead) thrived precisely because modest budgets preserved creative freedom. For Glen Powell, the results confirm he remains ensemble player rather than solo action star, suggesting future projects should leverage his charisma within team dynamics.
Paramount will likely absorb substantial losses while reevaluating big-budget adaptations of niche properties. The failure reinforces industry wisdom: not every property deserves theatrical release, and inflating budgets doesn’t guarantee proportional returns—sometimes it guarantees proportionally larger failures.
