Joining Predator: Badlands, Edgar Wright and Glen PowellâsThe 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 Hollywoodâs 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
â Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) November 17, 2025
Deadline Blames Covid and David Ellison â Seriously?
Instead of admitting the obvious â the movie is bad â 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 Paramountâs $110 million reboot ‘The Running Man’ starring Glen Powell.
â Deadline (@DEADLINE) November 17, 2025
But why did âThe Running Manâ 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 didnât want the movie because the movie didnât deliver.
Covid didnât write the bad dialogue. David Ellison didnât film the goofy towel scene that didnât bring in female viewers. A marketing department shift didnât make the villains boring or the script flat.
As we said in our review, âThe Running Man 2025 just isnât a fun movie at all.â Thatâs why people skipped it. This version doesnât even come close to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film.
The Real Reason It Bombed: The Movie Isnât Good
The remake didnât connect with audiences the way the Schwarzenegger classic did.
It wasnât exciting, it wasnât fun, and it didnât offer anything fresh. It tried to sell a âmodern audienceâ message instead of delivering entertainment, and the audience response proves that approach doesnât 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 wonât have), thereâs no path to profitability.
This isnât a Covid problem. It isnât an Ellison problem. Itâs a quality problem.
Audiences voted with their wallets, and the message is clear: this remake didnât run, it tripped out of the gate.
