It’s been a rough run forStephen Kingmovies at the box office lately. Hollywood has a long history of adapting the literary works of the legendary author, and they’ve seen how profitable it can be with hits likeThe Green Mileor bothITmovies. There are also several timeless classics adapted from his works that weren’t massive successes, likeThe Shawshank RedemptionorStand By Me.
The last few years have seen studios continue to churn out King adaptations, but there have been more misses than hits.Doctor Sleepwas a huge whiff after making only $72 million in 2019. AFirestarterremake then bombed with only $15 million earned worldwide, and other movies have gone straight to streaming.
WhileThe Boogeymanmade a modest $67 million off a $35 million budget, the final total is still a bit disappointing. The same could be said aboutThe Monkey’s release earlier this year, which made six times its budget, but still only made $68 million worldwide.
$15 million
$67.3 million
$68.8 million
The Life of Chuck(2025)
$12.5 million
The disappointing run continued with Mike Flanagan’s latest adaptation, asThe Life of Chuck’s box office failureis especially disheartening after rave reviews. This seems to suggest thatThe Life of Chuck’s failure was a consequence of poor marketing, which shouldn’t be a problem for otherStephen King adaptations coming in 2025.
The Long Walk & The Running Man Are Stronger Box Office Bets Than Recent Stephen King Movies
The various misses that have recently come from Stephen King adaptations have not persuaded Hollywood to stop turning his books into movies. Instead,The Long WalkandThe Running Manare both set for release later this year, and they are the types of movies that - on paper - look like more likely projects to connect with audiences.
BothThe Long WalkandThe Running Manhavesimpler plots that can be succinctly summarizedin a few sentences, which makes them easier to market. They also fit into broadly appealing genres: thriller/horror and action/sci, respectively. That makes it easier for audiences to become intrigued by what is coming.
Each movie is not completely unfamiliar to viewers, either. Arnold Schwarzenegger didThe Running Manin 1987, giving it some wider awareness in pop culture. Meanwhile,The Long Walkhas a dystopian YA competition storyline that’s not all that dissimilar toThe Hunger Games, which is why the movie hired franchise director Francis Lawrence.
1987’s The Running Man only made $38.1 million at the box office
The Long WalkandThe Running Manthrive in the dystopian horror that King has built his career on. They’re more recognizable asStephen King movies, and this could easily help them surpass the underwhelming box office performances ofThe Life of Chuckand other recent releases.
If this is the case,The Long WalkandThe Running Mancould be the beginning of anotherStephen Kingrenaissance and give him a few big box office hits in a row.
