The last time that director Francis Lawrence took a break from the Hunger Games franchise, he directed Red Sparrow — the espionage thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence. It was decidedly directed at older audiences and felt very much like something that wouldn’t have been made had the two Lawrences not had the clout they did. This time, the filmmaker has taken a more conventional detour with the smaller-budget genre film The Long Walk, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The film has earned excellent reviews and is slowly climbing its way up the box office charts.

The Long Walk has already recovered its reported budget of $20 million, and hasn’t yet been rolled out internationally. Of its $30 million global haul, nearly $25 million has come from domestic theaters. The movie has already overtaken The Shawshank Redemption‘s $28 million, as well as that of another landmark King adaptation, Carrie. Directed by Brian De Palma and released in 1976, Carrie was, in fact, the first movie adaptation of a King story. It remains a classic of the horror genre, and was remade in 2013 by director Kimberley Peirce.

The original film featured Sissy Spacek, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the lead role. Since 1976, there have been over 100 film and television adaptations of King’s works. This year has already seen the drama film The Life of Chuck, and the horror hit The Monkey. In a couple of months, director Edgar Wright will unveil his adaptation of The Running Man, starring Glen Powell.

Francis Lawrence Is Returning to Panem

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89%, The Long Walk features Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson in the lead roles, alongside Mark Hamill as the film’s shadowy antagonist. The movie is set in a totalitarian future where an annual competition is held in which teenage contestants are required to maintain a minimum walking speed, or risk getting killed. The book, which was the first one that King ever wrote, was an inspiration for the Hunger Games franchise, which director Lawrence is returning to. He’s now directing an adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping, which will be centered on the character of Hamish Abernathy played by Woody Harrelson in the original series. You can watch The Long Walk in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Release Date

September 12, 2025

Runtime

108 Minutes

Director

Francis Lawrence

Producers

Roy Lee, Steven Schneider

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  Cooper Hoffman

  Raymond Garraty / #47

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  David Jonsson

  Peter McVries / #23