Stephen King’s novel, *The Long Walk*, was long considered unfilmable. But after a difficult development process, director Francis Lawrence successfully adapted the grim, dystopian story, and it received strong reviews for being both faithful to the source material and featuring excellent acting. While the movie’s story of a deadly walking competition was well-received by critics, it didn’t have a huge run in theaters. However, box office numbers don’t always reflect a film’s true success. In fact, *The Long Walk* has quietly earned more money than many consider to be King’s most famous and beloved horror movie.
Now that its time in theaters is coming to an end, *The Long Walk* has grossed $51.9 million worldwide. This means it’s earned more at the box office than Stanley Kubrick’s classic film *The Shining*, which made around $47 million during its theatrical run. Interestingly, the two films had similar production budgets: *The Shining* cost about $19 million to make, while *The Long Walk* was made for roughly $20 million.
2025 has seen a lot of Stephen King stories come to the big screen. While all three films released so far have been praised by critics, *The Long Walk* has received the highest ratings, earning an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It outperformed both Mike Flanagan’s *The Life of Chuck* (79%) and Osgood Perkins’s *The Monkey* (77%). Interestingly, *The Monkey* was more successful at the box office, earning $68.9 million globally, despite the better reviews for *The Long Walk*. *The Life of Chuck*, which played in fewer theaters, made $16.2 million. The biggest King adaptation of the year is likely still to come with Edgar Wright’s *The Running Man*, starring Glen Powell, set for release in November and expected to be a major hit.
The Long Walk Will Soon Be Available at Home
If you didn’t get a chance to see *The Long Walk* in theaters, it will be available to rent or buy on demand starting October 21st. This will allow more people to experience the film that critics and audiences loved, and help it gain the recognition it deserves.
The most impressive aspect of *The Long Walk* is how accurately it captures the bleak and terrifying mood of the original story. Director Lawrence keeps the focus firmly on the walkers’ personal struggles and growing exhaustion, rather than the details of the competition itself, which creates a truly claustrophobic and draining experience. The actors deliver powerful performances, convincingly portraying the psychological breakdown of these young men as they face their own deaths with each step. Ultimately, *The Long Walk* is a remarkably effective adaptation of a challenging novel, offering a chilling, thoughtful, and deeply disturbing exploration of character and mortality.
The Long Walk is currently in theaters and will be available on PVOD on October 21st.
Did you catch *The Long Walk* in cinemas? If not, will you be watching it on demand? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!
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2025-10-15 16:11