Why 'The Running Man' Failed to Take Off at the Box Office with $28M Global Opening
In a post-strikes-COVID theatrical landscape where everyone is still trying to figure out what works, Paramount's $110 million reboot of 'The Running Man' starring rising star Glen Powell, fresh off the success of 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Twisters', completely tripped up at the box office. The film, directed by Edgar Wright and based on a Stephen King novel, opened to a disappointing U.S. gross of $17 million and a global total of $28.2 million. This underperformance was a stark contrast to Lionsgate's surprise No. 1 start of 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t', which brought in $21.3 million domestically and $75.5 million worldwide.
Initially, the project seemed promising with Wright's involvement and the star power of Powell. However, the film's box office struggles can be attributed to a series of administrative changes at Paramount. The transition from the old guard to the new leadership under David Ellison led to a shift in priorities and goals. The film's marketing campaign was also disrupted due to the exit of Global Distribution and Marketing Boss Marc Weinstock, and the subsequent arrival of new department head Josh Goldstine, who took over on October 15, just a month before the film's release.
One of the key issues was the film's target audience. 'The Running Man' failed to resonate with a wide, female-dominated audience, unlike Lionsgate's 'Now You See Me 3'. PostTrak exit polls revealed that Powell's sci-fi action movie was the third reason audiences went to see it, after its fun and exiting nature and the sci-fi genre. This contrast in audience preferences played a significant role in the film's underperformance.
Despite the low opening, Glen Powell's appeal to Middle America was evident, with an even distribution of the feature across the country compared to the coastal cities, where sci-fi generally performs better. However, the film's finite appeal to men over 25, representing close to half the audience, was a bitter pill to swallow. This demographic shift mirrors the struggles of other 1980s sci-fi IP reboots, such as 'Tron: Ares' and 'Blade Runner 2049', which failed to connect with audiences despite the involvement of renowned stars and directors.
The original 'Running Man' movie, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, also underperformed in 1987, following the success of 'Predator'. This raises the question of why remake a film that didn't initially resonate with audiences. The reboots of 'Buckaroo Banzai' and 'Krull' also met with similar challenges, highlighting the challenges of rebooting cult classics in the sci-fi genre.
