The Running Man Tops Paramount+ After January 13 Streaming Debut

MovieWeb reports that Edgar Wright's adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man is dominating Paramount+ after landing on the streamer on January 13, with audiences eager to see Glen Powell in the lead role. The film, directed by Wright and starring Powell alongside William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, Daniel Ezra, Sean Hayes, Jayme Lawson, Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin, first landed in theaters in November last year.

It is the second cinematic adaptation of King's 1982 novel and is said to adhere closer to the source material while reworking the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger picture into a modern action blockbuster. The official synopsis frames the story as a near-future society where The Running Man is a top-rated, deadly competition: contestants must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins and broadcast to a bloodthirsty public.

Glen Powell's Ben Richards enters the game to save his sick daughter, becomes an unexpected fan favorite, and must outwit both the Hunters and a nation addicted to watching him fall. Critical response was divisive, with a 63% critics score that concluded the film 'doesn't live up to the director's high bar for inventive action extravaganzas but maintains a slick stride,' while audience sentiment stood at 78% on the Popcornmeter.

Key Topics

Culture, Edgar Wright, Glen Powell, Stephen King, Paramount+, Popcornmeter