Glen Powell faced a brutal reality check after explaining why his Stephen King remake The Running Man failed at the box office.
The actor pointed out that Paramount made a major change shortly before the movie arrived in theaters on November 14.
However, his explanation did not sit well with everyone online.
Some viewers argued that weak marketing was only part of the problem, while others believed Powell himself lacked the star power needed to carry a major theatrical movie.
One X user said, “Or, it flopped because you have no star power.”
Glen Powell blamed Paramount’s marketing shake-up for the flop of his movie The Running Man
The Running Man was Edgar Wright’s 2025 adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian novel. Powell played Ben Richards, an unemployed man who desperately needed money to help his sick child and volunteered for a d*adly reality show. The movie also starred Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo.
The film had a reported production budget of around $110 million but earned under $70 million worldwide.
That made its theatrical run a major disappointment, especially after Powell had enjoyed hits including Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and Twisters.
In an October 7 Esquire interview, Powell explained what went wrong.
“They let go of an entire marketing department a month before our movie came out in the middle of a merger,” he said.
He was referring to Paramount’s mass layoffs in October 2025, just weeks before The Running Man reached theaters.
Powell suggested that the timing created problems for the movie’s promotional campaign.
His explanation quickly became a target for online criticism.
Some viewers argued that Powell was looking in the wrong direction when explaining the movie’s failure
One X user wrote, “He’s not a leading man; that’s why,” before arguing that Powell was better suited to movies such as Hit Man and Chad Powers.
Another commenter added, “This dude just doesn’t have lead actor quality. He doesn’t have a presence. He needs to build his career with good supporting character roles.”
Others questioned whether Hollywood had overestimated Powell’s popularity.
“Glen Powell may have some charisma and screen presence, but I’m increasingly questioning whether he has genuine leading man drawing power,” one person wrote.
Another wrote, “No mister, just admit you don’t have any charisma lol.”
Someone else added, “No, Glenn – it flopped because of you.”
Not everyone completely dismissed Powell’s point, though.
One viewer said, “I’d happily watch another Running Man,” while another agreed that Paramount’s marketing problems mattered but still criticized the movie as an adaptation and questioned Powell’s acting.
Another person argued that the remake itself was the problem, writing, “Nah, it flopped because it’s a reboot and nobody wanted it in the first place. Market all you want, Glen Powell is not that guy.”
The criticism came after Powell had already experienced another disappointing release
Powell’s next movie after The Running Man was How to Make a Ki*ling, an A24-backed dark crime comedy released on February 20.
The film follows Becket Redfellow, a man from a wealthy family who was disowned at birth and decided to reclaim his inheritance, no matter who stood in his way.
The movie also struggled financially, earning only $21 million worldwide.
Powell admitted there were production problems and suggested the project had been rushed.
“There were a lot of issues with that,” he told Esquire. “There just was not enough time to do it properly.”
He then added, “I look back on that one as an example of going, You know what, there’s no rush.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Powell also opened up about his reluctance to discuss politics
The box office discussion came during a wider Esquire profile in which Powell explained why he had become reluctant to discuss politics publicly.
He said his view had changed because political conversations had become too divisive.
“Over time, I realized that politics divide people,” Powell said. “People trying to prove their point — for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation.”
He continued, “I genuinely do not like the discourse. It’s not as healthy as it once was.”
Powell said he respected people who chose to speak publicly about political issues but did not feel that was his role.
“[Engaging in politics] is not presently possible,” he said. “I applaud people for jumping into those things and fighting for what they believe in.”
He added, “If I were a political person, I would be talking about it. For me, my calling is elsewhere.”
He also recalled that politics was rarely discussed at his family’s dinner table while he was growing up. His mother had worked at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Reagan administration, but Powell said his parents did not make current events a regular dinner-table topic.
“Movie also completely sucked,” wrote one netizen
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