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The Running Man (2025 film)

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The Running Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdgar Wright
Screenplay by
Based onThe Running Man
by Stephen King
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChung-hoon Chung[2]
Edited byPaul Machliss[2]
Music bySteven Price
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • 5 November 2025 (2025-11-05) (Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)
  • 12 November 2025 (2025-11-12) (United Kingdom)
  • 14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) (United States)
Running time
133 minutes[3]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110 million[4]
Box office$69 million[5][6]

The Running Man is a 2025 dystopian science fiction action thriller film produced and directed by Edgar Wright, who who wrote the screenplay with Michael Bacall. It is the second adaptation of the 1982 novel by Stephen King, following the 1987 film.

The cast includes Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin.

The Running Man premiered at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on 5 November 2025, and was released on 12 November in the United Kingdom and on 14 November in the United States, by Paramount Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $69 million worldwide against a budget of $110 million.

Plot

[edit]

In the near future, the United States is ruled by an authoritarian media network, referred simply as the Network. Most viewers live in poverty with little access to healthcare, and the Network placates the masses with trashy, violent game shows and reality television. The most popular program is The Running Man, where "runners" can win $1 billion by surviving 30 days, while the Network's five hunters, led by the mysterious Evan McCone, as well as ordinary citizens try to find and kill them. Given $1,000 and a 12-hour head start, runners are required to film themselves every day, or else forfeit their earnings but still be hunted.

Ben Richards, a blue-collar worker in the slums of Co-Op City, is unable to afford flu medicine for his infant daughter, Cathy, after being blacklisted for union activism. Ben tries out for the Network, intending to join a less dangerous show, but is unexpectedly chosen for The Running Man along with Tim Jansky and Jenni Laughlin. Executive producer Dan Killian convinces Ben to join by offering him a safe house for his family and an advance for Cathy's medication.

As the hunt begins, Ben travels to New York City. Checking into a hotel in disguise, Ben watches the live feed of hunters killing Tim. He flees to Boston.

In Boston, the hunters and soldiers track Ben to a hostel and shoot at him, leading to an explosion that kills eight soldiers. Anti-Network activist Bradley Throckmorton shelters Ben at his home, attempting to expose the Network's propaganda and deceit. Ben sends a video denouncing their action, but the broadcast content is replaced with a foul-mouthed deepfake of Ben, angering the public including Bradley's mother, who kicks him out of the house.

Bradley sends Ben to Derry, Maine, to meet Elton Parrakis, a fellow activist who prepares to lead Ben to a bunker for the remainder of his run. Ben stops Elton's mother from alerting the authorities, but Elton does so anyway, dispatching them with booby traps to avenge his father. Ben and Elton flee in a buggy, but McCone kills Elton. Ben crashes the buggy into another Hunter on a bridge and escapes into the river below.

Jenni is killed, leaving Ben as the sole remaining contestant, while his survival has earned the support of the poor and working class.

Traveling north, Ben discovers that a land development has paved over the bunker. Escaping surveillance drones, he commandeers a passing car and takes the wealthy driver, Amelia Williams, hostage. Amelia realizes the truth about the Network's propaganda after seeing televised deepfakes of herself and agrees to help Ben. Reaching an airfield, they take off in a jet to Canada, guarded by McCone. Killian calls to offer Ben his own show as the Network's newest hunter if he kills McCone and the remaining hunters, broadcasting footage of them murdering Sheila and Cathy to drum up support for Ben.

Ben kills the hunters posing as the flight crew, and McCone reveals himself as a former runner who took Killian's deal after nearly winning the first season. Killing McCone, Ben sends Amelia to safety with a parachute and Elton's revolutionary pamphlets. Killian gives Ben the chance to accept his new show on live TV, but Ben instead pleads for viewers to hunt down Killian and his fellow executives. The Network redirects the jet to their headquarters, airing a deepfake of Ben threatening to crash into the building, and the plane is shot down.

Sometime later, Amelia recovers the plane's black box and leaks the uncensored recordings, turning the public against the Network. Ben, who survived due to the plane's auto-eject function, has become the face of the revolution and reunites with his family, whose deaths were faked by Killian. As the next season of The Running Man begins, host Bobby Thompson senses the audience's hostility and quits, leaving Killian to host the show. A riot breaks out, and Ben emerges from the crowd and shoots Killian.

Cast

[edit]
Glen Powell and Josh Brolin star as Ben Richards and Dan Killian, respectively

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played Ben Richards in the 1987 film, makes a photographic cameo as the face of the $100 bill.[20]

Production

[edit]
Director Edgar Wright (pictured 2013)

In 2017, Edgar Wright expressed interest in directing a remake of the 1987 film The Running Man (itself an adaptation of the 1982 novel by Stephen King), with actor Chris Evans in the leading role.[21][22][23] In February 2021, Paramount Pictures announced a film based on the novel was in development. Wright was attached to direct, having developed a story with Michael Bacall, who wrote the screenplay. The new adaptation will not be a remake of the original film but a "much more faithful" adaptation of the source material.[24]

Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon were announced as producers under Kinberg's Genre Films, alongside Nira Park of Wright's British production company Complete Fiction.[25] In April 2024, Glen Powell was cast in the lead role.[7] Powell stated that he contacted Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave the film his "full blessing".[26] Additional cast members were announced in the following months.[15][9] Domain Entertainment co-financed the film with Paramount.[27]

Principal photography began in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2024.[28][29] It took place in London and for at least one week at Wembley Stadium for the shooting of an action sequence.[30][31] Shooting also took place in various locations around Glasgow, including the SEC Armadillo and OVO Hydro, and the Anderston Centre[32] Other scenes were shot in Bulgaria.[33] Filming concluded on 28 March 2025.[31][34] Paul Machliss was the editor,[2] making it his fifth collaboration with Wright. Industrial Light & Magic provided the visual effects.[35]

Music

[edit]
Main article: The Running Man (soundtrack)

In September 2025, Steven Price was revealed to have composed the musical score, having previously worked with Wright on The World's End (2013), Baby Driver (2017), and Last Night in Soho (2021).[36]

Marketing

[edit]

The first footage was screened during Paramount's CinemaCon presentation on 3 April 2025. It was introduced by Domingo who was on stage with Wright, Powell and Brolin.[37] The first trailer released on 1 July 2025, featuring a remix of "Underdog" by Sly and the Family Stone. To promote the trailer's release, Glen Powell collaborated with social media influencer Ashton Hall, by appearing in one of his "morning routine" videos, with the video ending with Hall watching the trailer in a private theatre.[38]

On 10 October 2025, a panel was held at New York Comic Con, which was attended by Wright, Powell and Lee Pace. 12 minutes of footage was shown to attendees, alongside a new trailer, which was released online three days later, featuring a remix of "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra. On 28 October 2025, an advance screening was held at the Paramount lot, which was attended by filmmakers like Joe Dante, Walter Hill, Rian Johnson, Gareth Edwards, Joseph Kosinski, Barry Jenkins, Jordan Peele, The Daniels and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller.[39][40] Powell appeared via video message on the twelfth episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats to introduce the daily challenge inspired by the film.[41]

Release

[edit]

The Running Man had its world premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on 5 November 2025, and its American premiere at AMC Lincoln Square on November 9.[42] It was theatrically released in the United States on 14 November 2025.[43] It was previously scheduled to be released on 21 November 2025, before being moved up to 7 November 2025, and then pushed back to its current date to avoid competition with Predator: Badlands.[44][45]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

As of December 16, 2025, The Running Man has grossed $38 million in the United States and Canada, and $31 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $69 million.[5][6] In the United States and Canada, it was released alongside Now You See Me: Now You Don't and Keeper and was projected to gross $23–25 million in its opening weekend.[46] It made $1.9 million in Thursday box office previews and debuted to only $16.5 million in its opening weekend,[6] finishing in second at the box office behind Now You See Me: Now You Don't.[47][48][49]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 282 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Spiritedly sprinting through grim source material, Edgar Wright's The Running Man doesn't live up to the director's high bar for inventive action extravaganzas but maintains a slick stride."[50] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[51] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same as the original film, and a definite recommend score of 58%.[52]

Chris Klimek called The Running Man a "bloody hoot" in a 3.5-out-of-4 review for The Washington Post, with praise for the direction and performances.[53] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave it two and a half out of four, writing: "The relentless pace generates enough of an endorphin rush to power the movie beyond plausibility nitpicking. It also prevents the audience from probing its worldview too closely, up to a point. That's probably for the best."[54] Owen Gleiberman of Variety viewed the remake as an improvement on the 1987 Schwarzenegger movie, but he did not find the dystopian themes unique or compelling. Gleiberman wrote that "because we’ve seen so many garishly downbeat sci-fi movies, dystopia is now the air that our imaginations breathe."[55] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film three stars out of five, calling it "retro-futurist and steampunky, though it is always watchable and buoyant." He reserved praise for Wright's confident direction.[56]

Stephen King, who disliked the original film, praised the 2025 adaptation, calling it a "bipartisan thrill ride".[57]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Bacall is credited twice for writing the screenplay; first as a solo writer and as part of a writing team with Edgar Wright.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Running Man - WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on November 15, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "British Council UK Films Database: The Running Man". British Council. Archived from the original on July 14, 2025. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  3. ^ "The Running Man (2025)". Irish Film Classification Office. October 13, 2025. Archived from the original on November 11, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  4. ^ Moreau, Jordan (November 6, 2025). "The Running Man: Edgar Wright on Directing His Most Expensive Movie Ever, Shooting Glen Powell Naked in the Freezing Cold and Getting Stephen King's Approval". Variety. Archived from the original on November 9, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Running Man". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The Running Man – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Gonzalez, Umberto (April 11, 2024). "Glen Powell to Star in The Running Man for Paramount, Edgar Wright | Exclusive". TheWrap. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 17, 2024). "The Running Man: Josh Brolin Lands Villain Role Opposite Glen Powell In Paramount And Edgar Wright's New Reimagining". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Kroll, Justin (January 9, 2025). "The Running Man: Colman Domingo Lands Game-Show Host Role In Edgar Wright's Reimagining At Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys (October 18, 2024). "Lee Pace Joins Glen Powell as Villain in Edgar Wright's The Running Man (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Kit, Borys (October 25, 2024). "Michael Cera, Emilia Jones Join Glen Powell in The Running Man (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  12. ^ Kit, Borys (October 28, 2024). "William H. Macy Joins Glen Powell in The Running Man". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  13. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 9, 2024). "All-American Star Daniel Ezra Joins Glen Powell In New Running Man Movie From Edgar Wright And Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Grobar, Matt (October 21, 2024). "Jayme Lawson Latest To Join Edgar Wright's Paramount Adaptation Of The Running Man". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Kit, Borys (October 4, 2024). "Katy O'Brian Joins Glen Powell in The Running Man For Edgar Wright, Paramount (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2024). "Edgar Wright's The Running Man Adds Karl Glusman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  17. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 20, 2024). "Sean Hayes Sets Back-To-Back Films For 2025 With Running Man And Is This Thing On From Bradley Cooper". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Cordero, Rosy (December 19, 2024). "David Zayas Joins Edgar Wright's Paramount Feature The Running Man". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Wheeler, Olivia (July 24, 2025). "Emmerdale star lands Hollywood movie role alongside Glen Powell". Belfast Live. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  20. ^ Lund, Anthony (July 1, 2025). "The Running Man Trailer Features Surprising Arnold Schwarzenegger Cameo". MovieWeb. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  21. ^ @mungui_zero (May 12, 2017). "@edgarwright I don't know where you stand on remakes, but, if you were to do one, no restrictions whatsoever, what movie would tickle your fancy?" (Tweet). Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (February 19, 2021). "Edgar Wright Set to Direct Stephen King's Dystopian Classic The Running Man". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Six Shooter #5: Edgar Wright interview (Video). Alamo Drafthouse. June 28, 2017. Event occurs at 0:07. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  24. ^ Travis, Ben (March 10, 2025). "Edgar Wright's The Running Man Will Be 'A Very Intense, Dangerous Road Movie', He Teases". Empire. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  25. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 19, 2021). "Edgar Wright To Direct Stephen King's The Running Man At Paramount Pictures; Simon Kinberg's Genre Films Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  26. ^ Drury, Sharareh; Senanayake, Natalia (April 3, 2025). "Glen Powell Got 'Full Blessing' from Arnold Schwarzenegger for Running Man Remake (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2025). "Paramount & Domain Capital Group Ink Feature Slate Co-Finance Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  28. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (August 26, 2024). "Glen Powell-Led Running Man Sets November Production Start at Paramount | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  29. ^ Calnan, Ellie (November 4, 2024). "Edgar Wright's The Running Man starring Glen Powell begins filming in UK". Screen Daily. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  30. ^ Juneau, Jen (November 14, 2024). "Glen Powell Films Running Man Remake in London 37 Years After Original Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie". People. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Erbland, Kate (December 5, 2024). "Glen Powell Isn't Taking a Moment of His Wild, Crazy, Totally Surreal Year for Granted". IndieWire. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  32. ^ "The Running Man: Here are all of the Glasgow filming locations in Edgar Wright's 2025 remake". The Scotsman. November 13, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  33. ^ Moreau, Jordan (November 6, 2025). "'The Running Man': Edgar Wright on Directing His Most Expensive Movie Ever, Shooting Glen Powell Naked in the Freezing Cold and Getting Stephen King's Approval". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  34. ^ Bowen, Zach (March 28, 2025). "The Running Man Wraps Filming As Edgar Wright Shares BTS Photo That Teases Major Change To Stephen King Novel". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  35. ^ Frei, Vincent (July 1, 2025). "The Running Man". The Art of VFX. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  36. ^ "Steven Price Scoring Edgar Wright's The Running Man". Film Music Reporter. September 29, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  37. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy; D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 3, 2025). "Glen Powell & Edgar Wright Electrify CinemaCon With First Footage From 'The Running Man". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  38. ^ "Glen Powell joins in on Ashton Hall's routine". Yahoo Entertainment. July 1, 2025. Archived from the original on July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  39. ^ "Glen Powell Gets Support from Celeb Friends at Running Man Screening on Paramount Lot". IMDb. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  40. ^ "Glen Powell Kicks Off The Running Man Press Tour with Screening & New Featurette". BeautifulBallad. October 31, 2025. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  41. ^ Bell, Amanda (October 15, 2025). "The Challenge: Another OG Champion Goes Down in 'Worst Performance' Ever". TV Insider. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  42. ^ Cote, Karla; Malkin, Marc (November 6, 2025). "Chappell Roan Wears Towering Headpiece to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles, Demi Moore Stuns in Balenciaga in New York and More Red Carpet Photos: November 2025". Variety. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  43. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 14, 2025). "The Running Man Dashes A Week Later, 18hz's Primate Busting Out In January". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  44. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 4, 2024). "Paramount Dates & Shifts Slew For 2025: Glen Powell's Running Man, Smurfs, Naked Gun, Vicious & More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  45. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 20, 2024). "Paramount Advancing Glen Powell's Running Man Earlier In November". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  46. ^ Fuster, Jeremy (November 12, 2025). "With The Running Man, Glen Powell Will Try to Cement His Leading Man Status". The Wrap. Archived from the original on November 15, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  47. ^ Moreau, Jordan (November 14, 2025). "Box Office: 'Now You See Me 3' Makes $2.1 Million in Previews, Beating 'Running Man' With $1.9 Million". Variety. Archived from the original on November 15, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  48. ^ Lang, Brent (November 16, 2025). "Box Office: 'Now You See Me 3' Captures First Place With $21.3 Million, 'Running Man' Stumbles With $17 Million Debut". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  49. ^ Malhotra, Rahul (December 18, 2025). "Stephen King's $110 Million Box Office Bomb Redeems Itself on Streaming". Collider. The Running Man cost nearly $100 million more and is clearly a bomb.
  50. ^ "The Running Man". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 27, 2025. Edit this at Wikidata
  51. ^ "The Running Man". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  52. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 16, 2025). "Lionsgate's 'Now You See Me 3' With $21M+ Opening Makes 'Running Man' Disappear From No. 1 – Sunday AM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. The redo gets a B+ CinemaScore, same as the original 1987 movie.
  53. ^ Klimek, Chris (November 13, 2025). "Starring Glen Powell, this 'Running Man' remake is built for speed". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  54. ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (November 2025). "The Running Man". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  55. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (November 11, 2025). "'The Running Man' Review: Glen Powell Joins a Homicidal Reality TV Show in Edgar Wright's Overelaborate Reboot of Stephen King's Dystopian Novel". Variety. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  56. ^ "The Running Man review – Glen Powell sprints through fun update of Stephen King future-shock sci-fi satire". Guardian. Guardian. November 11, 2025.
  57. ^ "'Die Hard for our time!' Stephen King raves about The Running Man". uk.movies.yahoo.com. October 14, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
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