Stephen King’s The Running Man Is Finally Running Out of Steam, Losing No. 1

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Stephen King’s work has been adapted into films more than almost any other author, and 2025 saw several of his stories hit the big screen. Unfortunately, his most recent book release was a critical and commercial failure.

In 2025, Stephen King saw four of his works adapted for the big screen: The Monkey, The Life of Chuck, The Long Walk, and The Running Man. While King had a successful year overall, The Running Man didn’t perform well in theaters. However, it eventually found an audience on streaming platforms, though its popularity is now starting to decline after two months, according to FlixPatrol.

As of March 11th, the movie The Running Man dropped to fourth place. It was overtaken by three animated films: the 2024 release PAW Patrol: Rescue Wheels, which debuted at number one, followed by the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and the newest SpongeBob movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, released in 2025.

Beyond its popularity on Paramount+, The Running Man continues to perform well on demand. It reached the top 3 in Ireland and Singapore, and the top 4 in the Netherlands, across platforms like Amazon and Apple TV.

The Running Man Found Solace on Streaming

The new movie, The Running Man, was released on November 14, 2025, almost 38 years after the original film based on Stephen King’s 1982 novel. The first movie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the recent version features Glen Powell.

Both movies were major failures in theaters. The newest one, directed by Edgar Wright, became available to rent or buy online just a month later, on December 17th, and then started streaming on Paramount+ on January 13th.

Initially, The Running Man was a huge streaming success, staying at the top of the charts for over a month. But now, its popularity is starting to fade, after a short-lived competition with The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants and other titles.

The Running Man’s Big Budget Worked Against It

Movie theaters have struggled to bounce back after the pandemic and the growing popularity of streaming. The market changed dramatically in the 2020s when multiple studios launched their own streaming services, leading to a lot of options – and higher costs for consumers. As a result, even big-budget movies with famous actors and impressive special effects aren’t guaranteed to succeed.

The film The Running Man featured a strong cast, including current star Powell, alongside William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin.

Despite its release date being in 2025, the film currently has a 62% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences give it a much more positive 78% rating.

The Running Man is streaming on Paramount+.

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2026-03-12 02:06