Overview

• The first wave of critiques praises the film’s intensity and performances, with outlets like Gizmodo, Collider, Inverse, JoBlo, and UPI calling it one of the stronger recent King adaptations.
• Aggregators counted an early Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% from 25 reviews, signaling strong initial critical reception.
• Stephen King said he required the movie to depict on-screen shootings of teenage contestants, a condition he described as essential to the story’s honesty.
• The production embraces a 3 mph minimum pace for the walk at King’s request, with Francis Lawrence directing and Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Mark Hamill leading the cast.
• Lionsgate-backed promotions have leaned into the endurance concept, including a Culver Theater ‘treadmill elimination’ screening challenging attendees to walk for the 108-minute runtime.