After Two Box Office Flops, Does Glen Powell Need a Career Redo?

This past weekend, Glen Powell’s newest film, How to Make a Killing, premiered to mixed reviews and a sense of commercial disinterest. Inspired by Kind Hearts and Coronets, one of the most legendary comedies in British film history, the movie seemed to arrive in theatres with zero fanfare. You’d think that an A24 remake of a cinematic classic, starring a much-vaunted actor who is regularly described as the next big mega-star, would warrant something grander than what it’s received. As it is, How to Make a Killing seemed to interest few and please even fewer.

The film came to us three months after Powell’s last big screen effort, and another remake of a familiar story, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man. That one was sold to us as a long-awaited faithful adaptation of the Stephen King book, and the next step in Powell’s career as a wannabe A-Lister. Could he be a proper leading man and send this film dashing to the top? Well, not really. The Running Man was hindered by mixed reviews and failed to take the top spot at the box office. It only earned $68.6 million from a reported budget of $110 million, making it one of the costlier flops of 2025.

This one-two punch of financial underperformance for Powell feels somewhat pointed. We’ve been told for the past few years, largely through Team Powell’s own PR, that this man was the future Tom Cruise. He was going to be this generation’s bona fide movie star, someone who could harken back to the much-desired days of old when one person’s name on the poster could guarantee audience devotion and the receipts to match. Hollywood is desperate for the old star system of the ’80s and ’90s to make a comeback, but few candidates have been able to live up to those mighty expectations. Powell’s struggling too. Is it his fault? Do audiences actually want more of him? Or is he trying to swim upstream in an industry whose aversity to change is biting them in the rear?

For what it’s worth, I like Glen Powell. He’s got an easy-going charm I find endearing, and he’s used so effectively in stuff like Everybody Wants Some!! and Top Gun: Maverick that I can’t help but be charmed. He’s a non-toxic bro, a himbo with the self-awareness to understand that appeal. I’m also a sucker for a celebrity who is open about their ambitions and candid in discussing their choices to become a star. Long after the old studio system died out, the entertainment world clung to these ‘a star is born’ narratives that pushed the notion that everyone’s success was exclusively down to talent and luck. Audiences are savvier now and they appreciate some openness about the cold hard grind of fame, and Powell is good at that (so is his one-time co-star Sydney Sweeney, which used to be her most interesting and relatable quality until, well, you know.)

Powell has made the conscious choice to be a mainstream, middle-of-the-road, appeals-to-all actor. Not many people are doing that. Indeed, many prior candidates for that role have galloped away from its confines in favour of character actor freakiness (Alexander Skarsgard, Sebastian Stan, Robert Pattinson.) It’s not that Powell is incapable of going goblin mode — Chad Powers, now and then, hints at some untapped weirdo energy in need of an unhinged director - but it’s not what he wants right now. He wants to be Tom Cruise without the baggage, and his choices reflect that. Twisters was a peak example of this: a classic four quadrants blockbuster where the actors may have come second to the effects but were still a key selling point to the masses, and it gave Powell a solid platform for his brand of shiny toothed charisma.

It’s tough to claim that audiences aren’t into this kind of movie. The highest-grossing works of any given year of the past decade are still largely franchise fare and familiar IPs where the brand overshadows the performer. But there is a difference between, say, a Marvel movie starring Chris Evans and a Chris Evans movie. Viewers flocking to the former does not necessarily mean they’ll do the same for the latter just because they like Captain America. Powell’s got the IPs but he’s also trying to be the kind of star who elevates them more than the corporate logos. Sure, The Running Man was Stephen King but it was Powell’s name over the title, not the author’s. The same goes for his new movie, and his Hulu comedy series. Are audiences rejecting the work or him?

It’s too early to say the latter, I believe. I’ve seen people claim they’re sick of the actor for ‘being everywhere’ but that’s a cycle that happens with many an actor. He’s a hot white dude in his 30s who plays the game so he’s hardly likely to go away or do a total career pivot. He’s only got a few years to ride this wave before someone younger comes along, and on paper, his choices are savvy. But you can never predict what people will gravitate towards. Still, if I was in Powell’s team, I’d be tempted to advise him to get weird. Find that balance between dashing action man and nervier character work, because the latter will provide far greater longevity (and none of these guys want to stay uber-muscled well into their 50s.) Take some smaller budget projects with real cultural cache. Get loose with another Linklater-esque hangout flick. Use that all-American jawline and capybara smile for something with an abrasive edge, like a grimy horror movie.

Powell isn’t in the treacherous waters of his Anyone But You co-star, if only because he’s savvy enough to keep his mouth shut and isn’t trying to sell us poorly fitted bras in the name of sisterhood. His next movie is J.J. Abrams’s return to blockbuster cinema, which could be glorious or a total disaster, but it’s certainly a very Powell-esque move in terms of his desired trajectory. The thing about vaulting Hollywood ambition is that the strategies are often more interesting than the projects. It’d be good if Powell avoided turning into Ryan Reynolds or Dwayne Johnson, but one wonders if that’s his ultimate goal. Come on, Glen, don’t be afraid to get stupid.