Joining Predator: Badlands, Edgar Wright and Glen Powell’sThe Running Man officially collapsed at the box office this weekend.
The Monday actuals are in, and the remake opened to a disastrous $16.5 million, missing even the already-low estimates of $17M.
International numbers were just as weak with a terrible $11.2 million debut, bringing the worldwide opening to $27.7 million, an embarrassing result for a movie that cost $110 million and needs around $275 million to break even.
This is Hollywood’s latest big-budget faceplant, and no amount of spin makes it look better.
It was less. RUNNING MAN made $16.5M in its opening weekend, now that the actual numbers are in. ($21.0 for Now You See Me.) https://t.co/kyKjTHeIVN
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) November 17, 2025
Deadline Blames Covid and David Ellison — Seriously?
Instead of admitting the obvious — the movie is bad — Deadline ran a piece blaming everything except the film itself.
In a post strikes-COVID theatrical landscape where everyone is still trying to figure out what works, along comes Paramount‘s $110 million reboot 'The Running Man' starring Glen Powell.
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) November 17, 2025
But why did ‘The Running Man’ fall down at the box office?https://t.co/yx8a3TlNXH
According to their report, The Running Man fell because of:
- Covid
- A post-strike landscape
- A leadership change at Paramount under David Ellison
- Marketing department limbo
It reads like a checklist of excuses to avoid acknowledging the core issue: audiences didn’t want the movie because the movie didn’t deliver.
Covid didn’t write the bad dialogue. David Ellison didn’t film the goofy towel scene that didn’t bring in female viewers. A marketing department shift didn’t make the villains boring or the script flat.
As we said in our review, “The Running Man 2025 just isn’t a fun movie at all.” That’s why people skipped it. This version doesn’t even come close to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film.
The Real Reason It Bombed: The Movie Isn’t Good
The remake didn’t connect with audiences the way the Schwarzenegger classic did.
It wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t fun, and it didn’t offer anything fresh. It tried to sell a “modern audience” message instead of delivering entertainment, and the audience response proves that approach doesn’t work.
A Brutal Start With No Recovery in Sight
With a $16.5M domestic opening and $27.7M worldwide total, The Running Man is dead on arrival. Even with strong legs (which it won’t have), there’s no path to profitability.
This isn’t a Covid problem. It isn’t an Ellison problem. It’s a quality problem.
Audiences voted with their wallets, and the message is clear: this remake didn’t run, it tripped out of the gate.
