Was The Running Man’s flop caused by Paramount’s marketing shake-up? Glen Powell: “Not enough time”
Glen Powell says The Running Man didn’t just flop on its own—he points to a major studio shake-up right before release.
One month before The Running Man hit U.S. theaters on November 14, 2025, Glen Powell says Paramount let go of an entire marketing department while the studio was deep in a corporate merger. In a new Esquire interview, he ties those layoffs to the film ’s muted launch, arguing the team simply ran out of runway to sell the movie.
“They let go of an entire marketing department a month before our movie came out in the middle of a merger…There just was not enough time to do it properly,” he said.
A tough release window
The timing didn’t help: the film opened into a crowded holiday corridor, debuting behind Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and quickly getting squeezed by other franchise players.
By the end of its run, the movie had earned about $69 million worldwide against a reported $110 million production budget, a shortfall that turned the conversation toward the campaign and calendar as much as the film itself.
Wright’s spin on King
Directed by Edgar Wright, the movie reworks Stephen King’s dystopian tale, with Powell taking on a part long associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The package promised a throwback, grown-up action ride with Wright’s high-energy style and a darker tilt closer to King’s novel.
Powell’s comments arrive against the backdrop of a less predictable theatrical market, where the fate of even a star-led, director- driven title can hinge on how forcefully a studio can get it in front of audiences. The Esquire conversation frames his frustration within a packed slate and a film pipeline that can bottleneck when corporate changes hit mid-campaign.
For context: the Skydance –Paramount merger was announced in 2024 and completed in August 2025, just a few months before The Running Man reached theaters on November 14, 2025.