It’s been a rough run for Stephen King movies at the box office lately. Hollywood has a long history of adapting the literary works of the legendary author, and they’ve seen how profitable it can be with hits like The Green Mile or both IT movies. There are also several timeless classics adapted from his works that weren’t mᴀssive successes, like The Shawshank Redemption or Stand By Me.

The last few years have seen studios continue to churn out King adaptations, but there have been more misses than hits. Doctor Sleep was a huge whiff after making only $72 million in 2019. A Firestarter remake then bombed with only $15 million earned worldwide, and other movies have gone straight to streaming.

While The Boogeyman made a modest $67 million off a $35 million budget, the final total is still a bit disappointing. The same could be said about The Monkey‘s release earlier this year, which made six times its budget, but still only made $68 million worldwide.

The disappointing run continued with Mike Flanagan’s latest adaptation, as The Life of Chuck’s box office failure is especially disheartening after rave reviews. This seems to suggest that The Life of Chuck’s failure was a consequence of poor marketing, which shouldn’t be a problem for other Stephen King adaptations coming in 2025.

The Long Walk & The Running Man Are Stronger Box Office Bets Than Recent Stephen King Movies

The various misses that have recently come from Stephen King adaptations have not persuaded Hollywood to stop turning his books into movies. Instead, The Long Walk and The Running Man are both set for release later this year, and they are the types of movies that – on paper – look like more likely projects to connect with audiences.

Both The Long Walk and The Running Man have simpler plots that can be succinctly summarized in a few sentences, which makes them easier to market. They also fit into broadly appealing genres: thriller/horror and action/sci, respectively. That makes it easier for audiences to become intrigued by what is coming.

Each movie is not completely unfamiliar to viewers, either. Arnold Schwarzenegger did The Running Man in 1987, giving it some wider awareness in pop culture. Meanwhile, The Long Walk has a dystopian YA compeтιтion storyline that’s not all that dissimilar to The Hunger Games, which is why the movie hired franchise director Francis Lawrence.

The Long Walk and The Running Man thrive in the dystopian horror that King has built his career on. They’re more recognizable as Stephen King movies, and this could easily help them surpᴀss the underwhelming box office performances of The Life of Chuck and other recent releases.

If this is the case, The Long Walk and The Running Man could be the beginning of another Stephen King renaissance and give him a few big box office hits in a row.