Glen Powell is on the cover of Esquire, and he's apparently done talking politics. He refuses to enter the discourse, saying his calling lies elsewhere.
“Over time, I realized that politics divide people. People trying to prove their point — for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation. I genuinely do not like the discourse. It’s not as healthy as it once was. [Engaging in politics] is not presently possible. I applaud people for jumping into those things and fighting for what they believe in. If I were a political person, I would be talking about it. For me, my calling is elsewhere.
Fine. That's the quote most media outlets will zero in on. What caught my eye, however, was something else: Powell finally addressed his box office bomb, "The Running Man," and he's pointing the finger at… Paramount?
Talking about 'Running Man,' which made under $70M worldwide against a budget in the $110M range, losing the studio well over $100M in the process, Powell lays the blame on Paramount, which he says "let go of an entire marketing department a month before our movie came out," referencing the late-October 2025 layoffs during the Skydance merger.
Okay, first, a confession. I didn't hate "The Running Man." It's not nearly as bad as some of the reviews made it out to be. Wright's kinetic energy shows up in stretches, Powell fully commits, and there are some genuinely entertaining set pieces. But the ending is botched. The film loses momentum in the final act.
That said, blaming the marketing? I don't buy it. The campaign didn't start a month before release. Wright, Powell, Domingo and Brolin presented the first footage on the CinemaCon main stage in April, and the first trailer dropped in July. By the time those layoffs hit, the heavy lifting was done.
So why did it bomb? Powell's star power has never been proven. Paramount was confident he was an A-lister who could sell tickets on his name alone, but that theory had never actually been tested. "Top Gun: Maverick" was Tom Cruise's movie. "Twisters" was IP. There was only "Anyone But You," his hit rom-com with Sydney Sweeney, but that one had the benefit of stellar holiday-season word of mouth.
Most of all, the critics and word of mouth killed 'Running Man.' It needed strong reviews, didn't get them, and plunged roughly 70% in its second weekend to a horrid $5M. That's not a marketing problem; it's more a case of people seeing it and telling their friends not to bother.
Powell is on a cold streak. "The Running Man" was followed by A24's "How to Make a Killing," another one I found semi-underrated despite its mixed reviews. It opened to just $3M and tapped out at $21M worldwide. Powell himself admits that one was rushed and says he's learned "there's no rush."
There were a lot of issues with that [film]. There just was not enough time to do it properly. I look back on that one as an example of going, You know what, there's no rush.
Next up for him is J.J. Abrams' "The Great Beyond," which hasn’t tested well and was recently delayed by Warner Bros. until next year. Then there’s another movie he’s already shot, “The Comeback King,” coming in February and directed by Judd Apatow, in which Powell plays a has-been country singer. In the meantime, he's back in the prosthetics for Season 2 of Hulu's "Chad Powers," which premiered last month.
Glen Powell has finally addressed his mixed-reviewed, box office bomb, "The Running Man," and he's pointing the finger at… Paramount?