It’s been a marquee year for Stephen King fans, with something for everyone popping up every few months. While audiences look forward to the re-release of The Life of Chuck, which didn’t quite take off the first time around, they can enjoy the thrilling new film The Long Walk. Now in its third week of release, The Long Walk has recovered its reported budget of $20 million, and has overtaken two of the most notable King adaptations of all time. Directed by Francis Lawrence, The Long Walk is one of the best-reviewed King adaptations ever, which is saying something, considering there have been over 100 of them.

With around $35 million at the global box office so far, The Long Walk has passed the $28 million lifetime global haul of The Shawshank Redemption, which is widely regarded as the finest King adaptation of all time, and one of the greatest movies ever made. The Shawshank Redemption had an infamously underwhelming theatrical run following its release in 1994, although it received plenty of critical acclaim. It witnessed a resurgence on home video, first on VHS, and then as a perennial cable favorite. It remains beloved among audiences worldwide, with a “certified fresh” 89% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Frank Darabont, who went on to direct more King adaptations such as The Green Mile and The Mist, The Shawshank Redemption followed the friendship between two prisoners clinging on to hope despite their oppressive environment. The Long Walk, on the other hand, is set in a totalitarian alternate reality where 100 boys are made to participate in a deadly annual contest. The movie holds an 88% score on RT, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Cooper Hoffman and David Johnsson’s soulful performances bring a lot of heart to Stephen King’s dystopian tale, making The Long Walk a life-or-death ordeal for its characters but a riveting ride for audiences.”

Two Major Stephen King Adaptations Are Around the Corner

Besides The Life of Chuck, which underperformed at the box office earlier this year despite excellent reviews, King’s fans have also had Osgood Perkins‘ well-received The Monkey. After The Long Walk, they have Edgar Wright‘s The Running Man, and HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry to look forward to. The series is a spin-off of It and It: Chapter Two, the two highest-grossing King adaptations of all time, with a combined global box office haul of more than $1.1 billion. 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

• 

  Cooper Hoffman

  Raymond Garraty / #47

• 

  David Jonsson

  Peter McVries / #23