Why Glen Powell’s 2025 Box Office Flop Is Taking Over Streaming Charts (#1 Trending In The U.S.)
Glen Powell’s The Running Man remake arrived in 2025 carrying expectations most mid-budget studio movies would envy. It paired Powell’s rising star power with Baby Driver director Edgar Wright’s reputation for turning genre material into distinctive, stylized crowd-pleasers. It even carried the rare stamp of approval from author Stephen King himself. On paper, The Running Man should have been a clean theatrical win for Paramount.
Despite generally solid reviews and a warm reception among genre fans, The Running Man remake struggled at the box office, making just over $68 million against a $110 million budget. However, thanks to streaming, the movie is finding its audience. Arriving on Paramount+ on January 13, The Running Man remake is an instant No.1 streaming sensation. And rightfully so.
Why The Running Man Remake Flopped At The Box Office
Glen Powell as Ben Richards yelling in The Running Man
2025’s The Running Man had all the makings for a success on the big screen. Edgar Wright directed the adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 novel, and A-lister Glen Powell was the leading man. However, the movie managed to miss the mark, and its failure was created by a perfect storm of external factors.
Marketing played a significant role in the film’s box office stumble. Paramount struggled to clearly define whether The Running Man remake was a hard R-rated action film, a satirical dystopian thriller, or an Edgar Wright-style genre remix. That lack of clarity limited the film’s appeal to casual moviegoers, particularly those unfamiliar with King’s Richard Bachman-era novel.
Another issue was franchise recognition. Unlike legacy IPs that benefit from ongoing sequels or cinematic universes, The Running Man remake was caught between the cultural memory of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and wanting to honor the actual plot of King’s book. Younger audiences lacked a strong attachment to either version, while older viewers were left unsure of what kind of film to expect.
With The Running Man being made by Paramount, many audiences also opted to wait for the film to arrive on Paramount+. Meanwhile, Now You See Me, Now You Don’t went to number one that same release weekend. This “wait and see” attitude is a trend that has been increasingly hurting mid-budget theatrical releases.
The Running Man Remake Is Worth Watching
Glen Powell in The Running ManParamount Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection
Aside from its box-office performance, The Running Man remake emerges as one of the more thoughtful recent entries in the action genre. Edgar Wright’s version is a far closer adaptation of Stephen King’s original Bachman novel. It embraces its bleak satire and media critique and avoids devolving into a pure 1980s muscle-bound power fantasy.
The Running Man‘s reworked ending received King’s personal approval. The author was aware of how the novel’s original ending could be seen as problematic in a post-9/11 world, but told Wright, “I think you did a great job.” — high praise given King’s historic skepticism toward his books’ adaptations.
Glen Powell delivered one of his most grounded performances to date, playing Ben Richards with relatable everyman desperation rather than bravado. The actor makes you root for Richards for more than just cheesy one-liners, complementing the novel’s tone rather than the 1987 film’s bluster.
Visually, Wright’s kinetic style gives The Running Man remake a distinct identity, blending retro-futurist aesthetics with harsh, contemporary media imagery. On streaming, without box office expectations attached, those creative choices are given time to breathe.
What Is Glen Powell Doing Next?
Glen Powell showing off his muscles with his arms behind his head in Chad Powers
Following The Running Man remake, Glen Powell has doubled down on ambitious sci-fi projects. He is set to star alongside Jenna Ortega in the sci-fi mystery, The Great Beyond. Directed by J.J. Abrams, it is currently slated for a November 2026 release. Powell also headlines Tesseract, another science-fiction movie, this time from Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail for Amazon MGM Studios, positioning the actor firmly in prestige sci-fi territory.
Powell is also attached to an upcoming Judd Apatow comedy, though little is known about it so far. Beyond this, the Running Man star will be returning for Chad Powers season 2. Though a release date has not yet been officially announced, it will likely be late 2026 or early 2027.
Release Date
November 11, 2025
Runtime
133 minutes
