The Running Man
Directed by Edgar Wright
Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards is convinced by The Running Man's charming but ruthless producer to enter the deadly competition game as a last resort. But Ben's defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite — and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching… From TMDB
253 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, TMDB reviews) · newest Oct 14, 2026 · last updated Oct 14, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 26 | 10 | 114 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| TMDB reviews * | 3 | 3 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
89 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
127 archived X posts (Mar–Apr 2026) are kept for the record and not used.
What viewers are saying
AI summary of the public posts linked below. Not a review by Rotten Tweets.
Counted from the reviewers’ own 0–10 ratings on the 10 rated TMDB user reviews we collected (7–10 positive, 5–6 mixed, 0–4 negative), not by the AI.
Some viewers praise the film as a tense, socially conscious thriller that succeeds on its own terms. [1][2][3] Others find it lacks the heart and memorability of the original, calling it bland or forgettable. [4][5][6] A few reviewers criticize the film for being overly long, narratively repetitive, or politically preachy. [6][7][8]
- [1]
### Review: The Running Man (2025) Score: 7/10 Comparing any remake to the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic is a brutal contest. The original is a beloved, muscle-bound, high-camp satire of 80s media and authoritarianism, where the puns are as thick as the biceps. The 2025 adaptation wisely doesn't try to be that. It takes Stephen King's (writing as Richard Bachman) original dystopian novel and the core concept of …
- [2]
What a great movie! This movie doesn't need you to have read the book to enjoy it, nor does it require that you've seen the version from the late 80's. It was a great stand alone movie by Edgar Wright that has impressive visuals and a story that gets you involved and keeps you interested. Glen Powell is outstanding and creates a character you root for the whole film. Would definitely recommend.
- [6]
There's often a very good reason why they say a film is "adapted" from a literary work. Such was the case with the 1988 film, "Running Man". Ably adapted from Stephen Kings literary work, it condensed a much longer tale, into a manageable and entertaining package. Regrettably, what has been repeatedly touted as an advantage, that is the new film, following the literary work of King more closely, is anything but. …
- [8]
No one asked for this, no one wanted this.... and like so many other movies that no one asked for or wanted, they gave it to us anyway.... .... and they added political lectures to it, but at least they didn't race and gender swap the lead. Even then, it's an insult to the original, it's an insult to the source material, it's an insult to the intelligence.
- [3]
Edgar Wright's "The Running Man" is really good. I don't know why it's being received so poorly. An extremely funny and fun film, I recommend it.
How this was made: an AI model (deepseek-v4-flash) read 34 of the 243 public posts we collected about this film and wrote the summary, likes and dislikes, citing the posts behind each point ([n] opens the post). A second AI pass checked every statement against the posts it cites; anything it could not match was removed, and code removed any statement with quotation marks, numbers that are not in the posts, or unattributed claims about people. The split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Generated Oct 9, 2026. Method
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Running Man grossed $38 million in the United States and Canada, and $32 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $69 million. 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. It made $1.9 million in Thursday box office previews and debuted to only $16.5 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Now You See Me: Now You Don't. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 61% of 304 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Spiritedly sprinting through grim source…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 253 · most liked firstThe new trailer for THE RUNNING MAN is up. My IT guy will post it. I don't "get" posting on Bluesky. That's okay. I've seen the movie, and it's a balls-to-the-wall thrill ride. The feel is like a modern-day DIE HARD.
positive · AI labelView post →Screenwriter: In my movie I invented The Running Man as a cautionary tale Noem: At long last, we are creating The Running Man from the classic sci-fi movie The Running Man
neutral · AI labelView post →Yesterday’s 3rd Annual Creator Con Block Party ended with an invite-only screening of THE RUNNING MAN. Watching a room full of comics, film and TV professionals get absolutely SCORCHED by this genius film is a highlight of this decade. Wow!!! @edgarwright.bsky.social doesn’t MISS.
positive · AI labelView post →First look at Glen Powell in Edgar Wright’s ‘THE RUNNING MAN’ The film follows a TV gameshow where convicted criminal "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers.
neutral · AI labelView post →What a waste of Lee Pace in The Running Man. It’s a perfectly fine movie (though frankly forgettable which is a weird thing to say about an Edgar Wright film), but I’m shocked by how little they gave Pace to do, and most of it behind a mask. He does a shit ton with the scraps he’s given tho.
neutral · AI labelView post →Imagine if they'd kept the real ending to The Running Man. Nobody would have stopped talking about that movie for *years.*
neutral · AI labelView post →London! To promote the jam-packed Blu-Ray, I’ll be back at Picturehouse Central on Weds 4th March, 7pm for a Q&A screening of The Running Man. I’ll be talking to @samclements.bsky.social, and there’ll be the chance to win prizes on the night. See you there! www.picturehouses.com/movie-detail...
neutral · AI labelView post →The Running Man (1987) 🎬🖤 Directed by Paul Michael Glaser
neutral · AI labelView post →Just saw the preview for the Running Man remake, and it's crazy that at the time the original King story and movie dropped the idea of such a dystopian type of reality entertainment with that level of constant surveillance and 24/7 broadcasting was a far-off fiction.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Running Man (Film: 1987 / DVD: 2000) 🔇
neutral · AI labelView post →I finished reading The Running Man earlier and, well, we'll see if they hold onto that ending for the upcoming movie. I get the feeling that we'll see at least some minor adjustments.
neutral · AI labelView post →Celebrating the 4th with my favorite anticapitalist film, The Running Man (1986)! They literally don't make 'em like they used to
neutral · AI labelView post →I re-watched the 1987 adaptation of The Running Man, which has always been my favorite Schwarzenegger movie. It is wildly different from the book (and presumably the upcoming movie, too) but it's still an '80s action good time with lots of one-liners puns.
positive · AI labelView post →I’m JUST finding out there’s a movie adaptation of The Long Walk coming out in 3 weeks, only about 2 months before the new The Running Man comes out? What a banner year for Richard Bachman, whoever that is
neutral · AI labelView post →Colman Domingo has been set to play the game show host in Edgar Writer's THE RUNNING MAN: bloody-disgusting.com/movie/385012...
neutral · AI labelView post →The Running Man (1987) 🎬💙 Directed by Paul Michael Glaser
neutral · AI labelView post →Alternative movie poster of the day 🎥😍 The Running Man (1987) By Dave Merrell
neutral · AI labelView post →Wild how the movie The Running Man (1987) was pretty accurate in future timelines.
neutral · AI labelView post →Last night at the screening of @edgarwright.bsky.social’s fantastic thrill-a-minute new movie The Running Man 🍿 #RunningManMovie @runningmanmovie.com
positive · AI labelView post →Just watched The Running Man... Good film :D Glen Powell is even nearly as buff as Arnie was in this film :p
positive · AI labelView post →My remaining movie releases for 2025: Oct. 8: Maintenance Required (Amazon Prime) Oct 24: Queens of the Dead (in theaters) Nov 7: Christy (in theaters) Nov 14: The Running Man (in theaters)
neutral · AI labelView post →If you're old enough to remember the movie The Running Man" it appears that we are headed towards a world of the "have" and "have nots".
neutral · AI labelView post →High and just remembered about THE RUNNING MAN (movie)
neutral · AI labelView post →The difference is the whole movie, honestly. After reading the book and seeing how close the new movie is to it, there's frankly almost nothing the same between the two of them except the Running Man show's name, and the names of like two characters.
neutral · AI labelView post →Edgar Wright's "The Running Man" is really good. I don't know why it's being received so poorly. An extremely funny and fun film, I recommend it.
positive · AI labelView post →#NowWatching The Running Man (1987) Dir: Paul Michael Glaser Based on the novel by somebody called Richard Bachman 🤔 #Movies #Film #StephenKing
neutral · AI labelView post →Respect to They Live, but The Running Man is the superior 80s anticapitalist movie despite getting no respect. They Live: sci-fi metaphor that boils down to broad cynicism about consumerism Running Man: here's how a police state controls people and here's how you form a coalition to overthrow it
neutral · AI labelView post →Literally accidentally stumbled onto a film set today! Edgar Wright’s remake of the Running Man! Got to see them do some takes and also this massive dystopian cyberpunk vehicle. Weird day!
neutral · AI labelView post →New episode! We talk THE RUNNING MAN and Stephen King Movies with the excellent Mr. @edgarwright.bsky.social! Listen and see the film in theaters 11/14! pocketcasts.com/podcast/pure... @newbeverly.bsky.social @elrickane.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →The Running Man (1987) Directed by Paul Michael Glaser
neutral · AI labelView post →I watched The Running Man from Edgar Wright on the plane. I recall this film reviewing as mid to bad. Could just be the reviews I saw of course. Either way, this was a solid, pretty good actually, well-casted & performed late 80s style action flick. You could tell the actors had A BLAST on set.
positive · AI labelView post →#JuneMovieChallenge Dystopian film The Running Man (1987) The US starts a global recession (uh-oh) The US government maintains control through propaganda (yikes) There's a mass riot in LA (getting scary) The US government punishes criminals for the entertainment of its citizens (help! Mommy!)
neutral · AI labelView post →New Projector review! Edgar Wright returns to Stephen King's book for his remake of The Running Man, with Glen Powell being hunted - and cast the Arnie movie out of your mind because this is totally different. But does it have the usual Wright stuff? youtu.be/f7wHdi6qJZY
neutral · AI labelView post →On the new film of The Running Man:
neutral · AI labelView post →13 runners braved the storm to run The Running Man x Ingress missions on a self-guided tour to hunt Ben Richards down. Mission progress was briefly interrupted by a film production, but that’s Hollywood, baby. #RunningManMovie 🏃♂️
neutral · AI labelView post →Starting my King movie marathon with this classic: The Running Man (1987) Director: Paul Michael Glaser Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Richard Dawson, Jesse Ventura, Mick Fleetwood. #Filmsky #moviesky #NowWatching #NW
neutral · AI labelView post →Okay, so. I'm one of those weirdos who digs the first Terminator more than T2 because of how T1 goes harder and darker than T2, pulling absolutely no punches, functioning as a slasher film just as much as a sci-fi film. That said, out of these? Total Recall. Out of all his works? THE RUNNING MAN
neutral · AI labelView post →Nobody took The Running Man seriously because it was a Schwarzenegger film that featured Schwarzenegger making a bunch of his usual wisecracks, but it really should be up there with Blade Runner and Mad Max among older dystopian classics. Also, we're about to live it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Thought THE RUNNING MAN would be fun, but it left me feeling browbeaten & exhausted. Of note, though, is it's the third film in two weeks to have featured clean, plump, obviously well looked after rats, supposed to signify squalor & disease, but actually cute enough to want as pets.
negative · AI labelView post →I think a big problem with The Running Man is that the vast majority of people think of the Arnie film than the actual Stephen King book it was based on.
neutral · AI labelView post →Millions hunt. One runs. Everyone watches. Watch the official trailer for Edgar Wright's THE RUNNING MAN:
neutral · AI labelView post →Movie Review: The Running Man wildsoundfestivalreview.com/2025/11/14/m... 2025 has been the unofficial year of Stephen King adaptations, and it all comes to a head with The Running Man, a new adaptation of the original story King wrote under his Richard Bachman identity.
neutral · AI labelView post →We always watch a Schwarzenegger movie on May 5th. (Don’t ask) And tonight it’s THE RUNNING MAN (1987). A favorite. I thought of posting every quote applicable to 2025, but I’d be typing more than I’d be watching.
neutral · AI labelView post →This weeks L4W: TRON: Ares (2025) Ad Astra (2019) The Running Man (2025) Roofman (2025) #letterboxdfriday #letterboxd #lastfourwatched #filmsky 🎬🍿📽️
neutral · AI labelView post →By combining old tech (film, manual guiding) with new techniques and tech (bracketing exposures for HDR, AI denoising, generalized hyperbolic stretching), I was able to produce this film HDR of Orion and the Running Man by combining 60 minute and 10 minute exposures. #astrophotography #filmisnotdead
neutral · AI labelView post →The Running Man was not only an awesome movie but a sad prophecy. 🤔😔
positive · AI labelView post →WTH? So basically a gateway "The Running Man" show...? (And if you've read the Steven King story--very different from the Arnold movie--you'd know this isn't too far off.)
neutral · AI labelView post →Currently watching The Running Man, a film that describes a utopian future where the government feels they have to cover up the killing of civilians.
neutral · AI labelView post →Watched an obscure Lucio Fulci film from 1984 called Warriors of the Year 2072. It’s sort of a mashup of The Running Man, Rollerball, Blade Runner and Mad Max. Sounds great, but honestly it’s a super low budget affair. Still amusing though. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was on MST3K at some point.
neutral · AI labelView post →I’m sorry to have to be this guy again, but: The new film THE RUNNING MAN is not a remake of the 1987 film THE RUNNING MAN. It is a second adaptation of the 1982 novel by Stephen King. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
neutral · AI labelView post →The early reviews of the Running Man movie look good 😊
positive · AI labelView post →Whichever creative agency is doing the Running Man trailers has nailed them so frickin' hard it hurts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usmi...
positive · AI labelView post →My ⭐️⭐️1/2 review of THE RUNNING MAN boxd.it/cQepFP To be clear, I thoroughly expected to like this new version! Loud, overwrought & ultimately pointless, screenplay tries way too hard to impress & strikes only one-note. Charismatic Powell is charmless & film left me apathetic & empty. #filmsky 📽
negative · AI labelView post →I watched The Running Man last night and for ME, it easily displaced Scott Pilgrim as my third favorite Edgar Wright film. Of the Running Man adaptations I've seen: Guns Akimbo, Jackpot, The Running Man (2025), I'd say it ranks first. If you want something similar but lighter, I recommend Jackpot.
positive · AI labelView post →44) The Running Man. Highly enjoyable. A different adaptation of the Stephen King novel rather than a remake of the film - in a good way. Fun one-and-done outing at the pictures.
positive · AI labelView post →The Running Man – a very well-executed and enjoyable genre film. Sort of thing that would have made a ton of money had it been released in the 80s or 90s, but struggles at the box office in the 2020s.
positive · AI labelView post →Tonight's film The Running Man (1987)
neutral · AI labelView post →With America set to self-destruct, I'll write about a relevant movie each week to address the ongoing crisis. Fancy leading a rebellion against the corrupt rule of a demented game-show host obsessed with his hair and make up? Let's start with The Running Man... film-authority.com/2025/03/16/t...
neutral · AI labelView post →Best bit of The Running Man? When the audience made the bloke on his phone leave the auditorium. Sadly that wasn’t in the film.
positive · AI labelView post →#NowSeated The Running Man open (2025) Dir: Edgar Wright #Movies #Film #Cinema
neutral · AI labelView post →
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