Stephen King’s $68.5M Sci-Fi Movie Continues Its Redemption on Paramount+ Global Charts

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Despite initially performing poorly in cinemas, Stephen King’s 2025 sci-fi film is now finding an audience and becoming a hit on streaming platforms.

The film The Running Man came out in theaters on November 14th, making it the fourth movie based on a Stephen King story released that year, following The Monkey, The Life of Chuck, and The Long Walk. While it didn’t do well in theaters initially, The Running Man has become popular on streaming and is currently a top performer on Paramount+, according to FlixPatrol.

As a big fan of sci-fi, I was checking the box office numbers, and while The Running Man isn’t topping the charts in the US anymore, it’s still doing incredibly well. It’s currently in third place domestically, behind a monster movie and an action film called The Gift. But honestly, that doesn’t matter too much because it’s been a massive success all over the world!

Over the last week, The Running Man has been incredibly popular in Central and South America, reaching the number one spot in 18 countries like Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela. The film also performed well on Apple TV, landing at number five in France and number two in Namibia.

The Running Man Got Its Revenge on Streaming

The film The Running Man is adapted from Stephen King’s 1982 novel of the same name. Like The Long Walk, King initially published it under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, and it was later included in his collection, The Bachman Books. The popular novel was first adapted into a movie in 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the film wasn’t successful in theaters.

Despite being based on a Stephen King story, the movie The Running Man didn’t do well in cinemas. Critics weren’t impressed, giving it a slightly positive score of 61% based on 302 reviews – barely enough to be considered ‘fresh’. This makes it the lowest-rated King adaptation of 2025, even when including his TV series It: Welcome to Derry and The Institute. However, viewers seemed to enjoy it more, giving it a 77% rating.

The movie flopped in theaters. It was released at the same time as Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which unexpectedly became a big success. Despite costing $110 million to make, The Running Man only earned $68.5 million worldwide – not enough to recoup its costs. However, it found an audience online and has remained a popular title on streaming services since its release on January 13th, consistently ranking among the top 10.

What Happens in The Running Man?

Directed by Edgar Wright (known for films like Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver) and starring Glen Powell (Hit Man, Twisters), this sci-fi thriller centers around a popular reality TV show. In the show, contestants called Runners try to survive for 30 days while being hunted by professional killers. Each day they survive brings them closer to a large cash prize.

The film The Running Man centers around Ben Richards, a working-class man who joins a televised game show in a desperate attempt to get medical help for his ill daughter. Surprisingly, Ben proves to be a skilled contestant, quickly becoming popular with viewers who begin to support him.

The Running Man is streaming on Paramount+.

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2026-04-06 03:06