Stephen King’s New Movie’s Budget Explained (Can It Be a Box Office Success?)

The already long list of Stephen King film adaptations continues to grow. On the heels of The Monkey and The Life of Chuck from earlier this year comes The Long Walk, a harrowing dystopian drama that brings King’s first published novel to life. Once considered to be an unfilmable work, director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner found a way to translate the text, crafting a movie that even impressed King himself. The Long Walk has already impressed critics, and now that it’s in theaters, it will be looking to parlay that enthusiastic reception into a strong box office performance.

The Long Walk is coming out shortly after other horror/thriller titles like Weapons and The Conjuring: Last Rites already made a splash at the multiplex, but the odds of it turning a profit are still fairly high. The reason why can be traced back to Lionsgate’s savvy business decision to keep production costs under control.

What Is The Long Walk‘s Production Budget?

The Long Walk was made for just $20 million. While that figure is double the production costs for fellow King adaptation The Monkey, it’s a very reasonable price tag for a film such as this. The Long Walk was actually cheaper to make than Weapons, which had a budget of around $38 million. Because the budget is so small, The Long Walk likely needs to gross somewhere around $40 million worldwide to recoup its production expenses, the general rule of thumb being that a movie’s break-even point is roughly double the budget. This is because production budgets do not factor in marketing and distribution costs that the studio has to pay for.

Can The Long Walk Be A Box Office Success?

Initial tracking for The Long Walk project indicates that the film will earn over $ 10 million domestically during its opening weekend, which would actually be a step below The Monkey‘s debut ($14 million). On paper, that reads like a soft opening, but it’s important to keep in mind these are just estimates. In 2025, several films ranging from superhero blockbusters to horror movies have exceeded projections and gotten off to stronger starts than anticipated.

The Long Walk could certainly continue that trend. Word of mouth ahead of its release has been very strong, with many critics calling it one of the best King adaptations of all time. The Long Walk‘s Rotten Tomatoes score reflects that, breaking an impressive Stephen King record that stood for nearly 50 years. The response to The Long Walk could encourage people to check it out, just as the reviews helped Weapons and Sinners beat the projections.

Read Next

The Long Walk Review: New Stephen King Movie Is As Grueling and Brutal As the Title Implies

One thing that might work against The Long Walk is its release window. Horror fans have already turned Weapons and the record-breaking Conjuring: Last Rites into massive successes, and next weekend sees the release of the football-themed horror film Him. There are plenty of options for people looking for a good thriller, and some of those viewers could opt for something more crowd-pleasing than The Long Walk, which is a compelling yet bleak experience. If The Long Walk were the only thriller around, the box office prospects could be stronger, but it’s trying to stand out in a busy time.

Still, it’s safe to say there’s a path for The Long Walk to get to profitability. $40 million is a reasonable bar for an older-skewing thriller like this to clear. As a point of comparison, The Monkey earned $68.8 million globally, so it’s certainly possible for another King adaptation to reach that mark. Especially if The Long Walk gets a bit of a boost from the reviews, the small production budget will help it go down as a box office success.