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Edgar Wright’s new take on The Running Man may be stumbling in theaters, but it just cleared an unexpected milestone. The Stephen King adaptation has now earned $65.7 million worldwide, quietly leapfrogging Kathryn Bigelow’s war thriller K-19: The Widowmaker in Paramount’s all-time box office ranks—even as it remains far from recouping its reported $110 million budget.
Starring Glen Powell as everyman contestant Ben Richards, the film adapts King’s 1982 dystopian novel—originally published under his Richard Bachman pseudonym—about a lethal game show where the rich watch the poor die for sport. That darker Bachman-era vibe sets it apart from the more crowd-pleasing King hits many moviegoers know best.
‘The Running Man’ Fights for Air in a Crowded 2025
According to Collider’s box office breakdown, Wright’s film pulled in just $1.1 million domestically over the most recent weekend, a steep 68% drop that knocked it out of the top ten entirely. Its $65.7 million global gross is split between $36.5 million in North America and $29.2 million from overseas markets.
The struggle isn’t happening in a vacuum. Family juggernauts like Zootopia 2, the musical blockbuster Wicked: For Good, and horror sequel Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 are dominating screens. In that landscape, a bleak, violent satire about class, media, and state-sanctioned bloodsport was always going to be a tougher sell.
Still, the movie arrives at a moment when King’s work is everywhere again. 2025 has already delivered adaptations of Bachman-era short story The Monkey and dystopian novel The Long Walk, both of which have performed strongly at the box office.** Hulu is also rolling out The Life of Chuck, continuing a run of prestige-leaning King projects.
King Backs Wright as Bachman Era Surges Back
Even if audiences are slow to show up, King himself has thrown his weight behind Wright’s vision. The author recently met the director on set for the first time and shared a photo and praise on social media, calling himself “so thankful for this moment in time,” as reported by Entertainment Weekly. For Constant Readers, that blessing matters—especially for a book King once wrote under an alter ego to explore harsher themes.
It also caps a striking on-screen resurgence for King’s grimmest corners. Bachman stories like The Long Walk and The Running Man are suddenly sitting alongside more mainstream projects such as Hulu’s The Life of Chuck and the author’s crime and horror work now thriving on streaming, from Netflix’s Mr. Mercedes to fresh miniseries revivals.
Whether The Running Man ultimately finds its audience in theaters or later at home, its $65.7 million haul is a reminder that even a so-called King “flop” can quietly rewrite the studio record books. For readers, the bigger story may be what comes next: a Hollywood still clearly hungry to dig deeper into the Bachman bookshelf.
Part of our full guide: Stephen King Adaptations in 2026: What Is Filming, What Was Cancelled and What Is Next
