It has been four days since Glen Powell’s The Running Man hit theaters, but the film may already be on the road to becoming a box office flop. This could prove to be a setback in Powell’s apparent ambition to become the “next Tom Cruise.”
Glen Powell’s box office failure might cause a problem
Glen Powell’s The Running Man has not performed as expected at the box office. It has also cast doubt on Powell’s ability to become Tom Cruise’s box office successor. The lukewarm box office response comes after the 37-year-old actor was fresh off the success of Top Gun: Maverick with Cruise, Anyone but You, and Twisters.
According to The Daily Mail, Hollywood had high hopes for Powell and Running Man director Edgar Wright’s partnership to connect with audiences. However, in the film’s opening weekend, it collected just $17 million domestically, with Now You See Me: Now You Don’t outperforming The Running Man with a surprising $21.3 million.
An insider revealed to The Daily Mail that the flop could derail Powell’s road to action stardom. One insider shared, “This movie was a major test. His first huge mega-budget film, where he’s the marquee name. Hollywood is trying to position him as the next Tom Cruise, but this is a major global fail.”
Another insider chipped in and revealed that Powell has put the flop behind him. The insider stated, “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.”
Furthermore, the insider shared that Powell was optimistic that it was going to be an “enormous hit.” However, now that it is struggling at the box office, he’s looking to move on to his next project. Inside sources have also said that they believe Powell’s overvisibility killed The Running Man’s box office prospects.
The source added, “Audiences still like Glen, but some of the blame should be put on people watching him from home, with him being on SNL this past weekend and also having his show Chad Powers out so that you can watch on your couch.”
However, Hollywood insiders see this as a mere bump in Glen Powell’s journey to action stardom. It is no secret that Powell idolises Tom Cruise, who also attended the premiere of the film recently. Cruise has had a few box office flops along the way, and yet he is one of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood.
Originally reported by Anwaya Mane on Mandatory.
