Alan Ritchson may be one of the strongest action draws in streaming right now. Reacher continues to post huge numbers for Amazon, and his Netflix action film, War Machine, even reached the service’s all-time most-popular list. Under normal circumstances, that kind of momentum might be expected to translate into at least some theatrical pull.
So far, though, 2026 has suggested otherwise. His Detroit-set revenge thriller Motor City made little impact this summer, finishing at roughly $3 million worldwide, and now Runner has reached a more uncomfortable benchmark. Three weeks into its run, it still has not caught The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the Henry Cavill-led war film that was widely labeled a box office disappointment two years ago, and it is not especially close.
‘Runner ‘Is Still Trailing One of Alan Ritchson’s Earlier Box Office Flops
Runner, which pairs Ritchson with Owen Wilson under director Scott Waugh, opened on Sept. 11 through Angel Studios and has managed roughly $13.6 million worldwide against a reported budget in the $35 to $45 million range, per Box Office Mojo. Guy Ritchie’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare finished its 2024 run at $29.8 million, which was itself considered a failure against a $60 million budget. That means Runner has grossed nearly half of what a certified flop made, and the comparison actually gets worse under scrutiny.
Ministry never received a proper theatrical release overseas, since Amazon held international rights for Prime Video, so its total came almost entirely from North American screens. Runner did open theatrically in the UK, Australia, and other markets and has still scraped together barely $1.2 million internationally, or under 10 percent of its haul. On a like-for-like basis, that makes the comparison look even less favorable.
Ritchson was in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and his turn as the arrow-slinging Danish commando Anders Lassen was arguably the film’s breakout element. The film also holds one of the stronger Rotten Tomatoes showings of Ritchson’s career, with a 68 percent critics score and a 91 percent audience score. It’s worth adding that he did win one head-to-head this month, as Runner outgrossed Ritchie and Cavill’s In the Grey inside a week despite that film’s four-month head start and $70 million budget.
Ritchson’s Streaming Success Still Is Not Translating to Theaters
The frustrating part, at least for anyone who follows this corner of the genre, is that audiences who do show up seem to like these movies. Star-driven action comedies in this budget tier get politely ignored in cinemas and then find their real audience at home a few months later, which is presumably where Runner is headed too. None of this seems likely to slow Ritchson down. Reacher remains Amazon’s crown jewel, and his name keeps surfacing for the Helldivers movie role Jason Momoa stepped away from, so bigger swings are probably coming.
