Hollywood's golden boy Glen Powell has hit a devastating roadblock in his ascent to action stardom, with his latest blockbuster The Running Man stumbling to a catastrophic $28.1 million global opening against a massive $110 million production budget.
From Unstoppable Streak to Box Office Disaster
Just months ago, the 37-year-old actor appeared unstoppable. Fresh from the phenomenal success of Top Gun: Maverick, which grossed $1.49 billion worldwide, Powell followed up with the romantic comedy hit Anyone But You earning $220 million and the action spectacle Twisters pulling in $372 million.
Hollywood had positioned Powell as the natural successor to Tom Cruise, particularly as the 63-year-old veteran steps back from the Mission Impossible franchise. The industry pinned enormous hopes on Powell's new take of Stephen King's 1987 classic, originally starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, with acclaimed Baby Driver director Edgar Wright attached to helm the project.
Opening Weekend Catastrophe
The highly anticipated film collapsed at the starting gate, managing only $17 million in domestic ticket sales while being blindsided by the magic sequel Now You See Me: Now You Don't, which pulled in a surprising $21.3 million.
International audiences offered little salvation, contributing just $11.1 million overseas for that disastrous global total of $28.1 million. Industry insiders immediately sounded alarm bells about what this means for Powell's future as an action leading man.
"This movie was a major test. His first huge mega-budget film where he's the marquee name," a source told Daily Mail. "Hollywood is trying to position him as the next Tom Cruise, but this is a major global fail."
Damage Control and Future Prospects
Despite the crushing disappointment, insiders suggest Powell is already looking ahead. "Glen has been working for a long time and his star rising is a long time coming, and to be the next big star, or the next Tom Cruise doesn't happen overnight, or at all," another insider revealed.
"With Running Man flopping, it really sucks, because Glen thought it was going to be an enormous hit. Now that it wasn't, he is looking to dust himself off and get to people and in their good graces next time."
The source offered perspective by recalling that Schwarzenegger's original Running Man achieved only moderate box office success with mixed reviews before later gaining cult status. "What people forget is that the original Running Man wasn't a hit and then became a classic after a few years, and this one just came out at the wrong time," the insider noted.
Several factors may have contributed to the film's underwhelming performance. Powell's recent high visibility - hosting Saturday Night Live and starring in streaming series Chad Powers - potentially impacted cinema attendance. "Audiences still like Glen, but some of the blame should be put on people watching him from home," the source suggested.
There were even whispers that Powell's appearance as Jimmy Kimmel's first guest after his controversial Charlie Kirk suspension might have caused minor collateral damage, though this remains unsubstantiated.
Critics remained divided on Powell's potential to inherit Cruise's action throne. The Telegraph's Robbie Collin praised the film as feeling "like a vintage Cruise project from his Minority Report and Collateral era," while The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote that it "fails to erase lingering doubts about Glen Powell's viability as a leading man."
With multiple projects still in development and industry support reportedly remaining strong, Hollywood insiders suggest this may represent merely a bump in the road rather than a full derailment of Powell's ascending career.
