The Running Man Box Office Sets Stephen King Record Despite Underwhelming Debut

The Running Man is setting a box office record for any Stephen King movie released in 2025. The year has had a busy slate of King adaptations, with stories like The Monkey and The Long Walk getting retold for the big screen. The movies were critically acclaimed, but the commercial performances have been mixed.

According to Deadline, The Running Man is projected to make roughly $17 million at the domestic box office. On one hand, the debut is disappointing because it’s below the initial estimation of $20 million.

On the other hand, it’s the highest-grossing weekend debut for a King film released this year. The box office beat Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey, which made $14 million during its opening weekend. This is followed by The Long Walk, which made $11 million. It’s also the second-best opening weekend for an Edgar Wright movie, behind only Baby Driver, which grossed $20.5 million.

In addition, the opening debut for Wright’s The Running Man doubles the Arnold Schwarzenegger version, which made $8.1 million in its first weekend in 1987. However, the 2025 version has a long way to go to hit the break-even point. Whereas the 1987 movie had a $27 million budget, Wright’s version had a hefty $110 million price tag, which was the most expensive King adaptation this year. The movie fell second to Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which debuted at $24 million to clinch the no. 1 spot.

Unfortunately, The Running Man isn’t doing so great internationally. Projections show that the movie will make roughly $11.2 million overseas, bringing the global total to just $28.2 million. With The Running Man being the final King adaptation to release in 2025, the box office results show mixed results. The Life of Chuck had the poorest commercial performance, with just $11 million global total, while The Monkey and The Long Walk turned out to be financial hits.

Even though The Running Man was initially tracking a $20 million debut, a lukewarm reception possibly hurt the final box office. After critics shared The Running Man review earlier in the week, the response seemed mixed about the final cut. While Glen Powell, who played the protagonist, Ben Richards, and the action sequences were the positive aspects, the criticism focused on the convoluted third act and the lackluster execution of the social commentary. As a result, the Rotten Tomatoes score turned out to be 64%, which is the lowest for any Wright movie.

The R-rating also likely played a factor in its underwhelming box office. While that rating limited its audience, this only benefited Now You See Me: Now You Don’t since the PG-13 rating allowed for a wider target demographic. However, the marketing for the latter also played a role in their success, including the coincidental timing of the Louvre heist that added intrigue for the third Now You See Me installment.

Nevertheless, despite the disappointing box office debut, there is still some chance for The Running Man to find redemption. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so that will help with its total to close out the gap in its budget. In addition, it’s becoming more common that even with a disappointing box office, a movie still finds success on streaming.

That’s already happened with The Accountant 2 and Ballerina, as both films had disappointing box office but performed well on streaming. Evidently, The Life of Chuck and The Long Walk found success on streaming due to the appeal of being King movies, so it’s expected that The Running Man could experience the same when it readies for its home release. As of writing, there are no details of when the movie will be released on streaming.

The Running Man is now playing in theaters.

Release Date

November 14, 2025

Producers

George Linder, Nira Park, Simon Kinberg