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The Glen Powell Paradox

Leading men, take heed: “The Running Man” remake’s soft opening is a lesson about the difference between bankable I.P. and fare maybe best left to history. Meanwhile, movies made by, for, and/or starring women continue to power the box office, with “Wicked” on deck.

Glen Powell
Luckily for Powell, he’s smartly spent the past few years cashing studio paychecks on perceived, theoretical star power. Photo: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images
Scott Mendelson
November 18, 2025
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Plenty of people would love for Glen Powell to become a movie star—most of all, I’m sure, Glen Powell. But this weekend’s $16.5 million North American box office cume for The Running Man isn’t going to get him there. One star vehicle whiff doesn’t kill a career, of course, but studios should know by now that casting a handsome, charming actor as an action figure in a big-budget, recycled I.P.-for-I.P.’s sake fantasy or action spectacle doesn’t get you to Tom Cruise. Luckily for Powell, he’s smartly spent the past few years cashing studio paychecks on perceived, theoretical star power.

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