The latest adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man, starring Glen Powell, has seen a significant drop in ticket sales during its second weekend at the domestic box office.
Under the direction of Edgar Wright, this film marks the second cinematic interpretation of King’s renowned dystopian novel, initially published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The original film adaptation, released in 1987, featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as the protagonist, Ben Richards, and Richard Dawson as the villainous Dan Killian.
In this modern retelling, Powell steps into the role of Richards, a man living in a grim future America, fighting to secure medical treatment for his sick daughter. Faced with financial desperation, Richards enters the brutal TV game show, The Running Man, hoping to win a prize of 1 billion new dollars—the nation’s revamped currency.
The challenge he faces is daunting: to survive 30 days while evading highly skilled assassins in a public arena. In this rendition, Josh Brolin takes on the role of Killian, the antagonist.
The film, rated R and distributed by Paramount Pictures, premiered on November 14. It captured the second spot at the domestic box office, earning $16.4 million from 3,534 theaters in its opening weekend. It launched alongside Lionsgate’s heist thriller, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which claimed the top position with $21 million in earnings across 3,403 theaters in North America.
The catch is, he must elude elite assassins out in public for 30 days to win the cash. Josh Brolin plays Killian in the new big-screen adaptation of the King tale.
Rated R, Paramount Pictures’ The Running Man opened in theaters on Nov. 14 and finished at No. 2 at the domestic box office with $16.4 million in its first weekend frame from 3,534 theaters. The film opened up against Lionsgate’s heist thriller Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which took the No. 1 spot in its debut weekend with $21 million in ticket sales from 3,403 North American theaters.
The Running Man fared much worse in its second weekend at the theaters, earning an estimated $5.8 million from Friday to Sunday – marking a 65% drop in business from its opening weekend.
Rated R, The Running Man to date has earned $27 million domestically and $21.3 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $48.3 million to date. The Running Man had a production budget of $110 million before prints and advertising, according to The Numbers.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked: For Good.”
Universal Pictures
‘Wicked: For Good’ Trounced All Competitors At The Box Office In Its Opening Weekend.
Both The Running Man and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t faced a formidable competitor at the box office this weekend with the release of Wicked: For Good, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s follow-up to their 2024 blockbuster movie musical Wicked.
Wicked: For Good easily won the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office, earning an estimated $150 million (including early previews) over the weekend from 4,115 North American venues. Combined with the film’s $76 million in international ticket sales, Wicked: For Good earned an estimated $226 million worldwide in its first weekend.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t dropped to No. 2 at the box office with $9.1 million in ticket sales from 3,403 North American theaters, which is a 57% drop in business from its opening weekend.
With its ticket sales, the second sequel in the Now You See Me franchise boosted its running domestic tally to $36.8 million ($73.8 million worldwide) through Sunday.
The sci-fi action thriller Predator: Badlands earned $6.2 million from 3,100 North American venues in its third weekend in theaters, taking the No. 3 spot. The 20th Century Studios release to date has a running domestic tally of $76.2 million ($159.5 million worldwide).
Finishing No. 5 on the domestic chart behind The Running Man is Searchlight Pictures’ drama Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser. The film earned $3.3 million from 1,925 North American venues and did not open in any theaters internationally.
The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.
