Stephen King’s $68.5M Sci-Fi Remake The Running Man Celebrates Major Paramount+ Milestone

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Stephen King’s latest film didn’t do well in theaters when it first came out last November, but it’s become very popular on streaming services.

I’m so impressed with how well The Running Man has done! It premiered on Paramount+ back on January 13th, and it’s just been consistently popular ever since. I was thrilled to hear that on April 23rd, it hit a huge achievement – 100 days on the U.S. Paramount+ charts! What’s even more amazing is that it hasn’t left the charts at all during those 100 days. It’s a true testament to how great the film is!

The show is currently performing well internationally, ranking second globally behind the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You. In the U.S., it’s in eighth place on Paramount+ and fifth on MGM+.

The Running Man Was a More Accurate Remake

This science fiction movie is based on the 1982 novel by Stephen King, originally published under the name Richard Bachman. A previous film adaptation came out in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it wasn’t successful. The movie lost money, earning only $38.1 million on a $27 million budget, and critics weren’t impressed, particularly because it differed significantly from the book.

Edgar Wright revisited The Running Man in 2025 with a more faithful adaptation. The story is set in the near future where the United States is controlled by the Network, a powerful and oppressive media company. They run a brutal reality show where contestants, called Runners, must evade professional killers for a month to survive.

This science fiction movie centers on Ben Richards, an ordinary man who enters a high-stakes competition to win money for his daughter’s medical treatment. The competition’s ruthless producer didn’t count on Ben becoming popular with viewers due to his surprising abilities.

I was really impressed with how faithfully the movie followed the book! But I recently read that the director, Wright, said they never considered using the original ending Stephen King wrote. In the book, the character crashes a helicopter into the Games Network building, which is pretty dark. Apparently, it mirrored a real-life tragedy a bit too closely, and the team felt it would be in really bad taste to even hint at 9/11, so they went a different route.

Glen Powell, known for his roles in Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick, stars as Ben Richards in the film. He’s joined by a talented cast including William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin.

The Running Man Was an Unfortunate Box Office Flop

Although made with a significantly larger budget of $110 million compared to the original 1987 film, The Running Man didn’t perform well in theaters, earning only $68.5 million. Thankfully, it found an audience through digital releases and has been successful on streaming services like Paramount+ and, more recently, Prime Video.

Critics weren’t very impressed with the sci-fi film – it received a 61% rating based on 302 reviews. However, audiences seemed to enjoy it much more, giving it a 77% approval rating.

The Running Man is streaming on Paramount+ and Prime Video.

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2026-04-23 19:08