(Crankers.com) Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” movie performed horribly in the theaters following his Charlie Kirk comments that ended up being a lie – to which he apologized, but it was already too late.
King was scrutinized for posting about Kirk on X: “He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin’.” Even though King deleted the post and officially apologized to Kirk’s family and supporters, he faced a massive backlash from the general public and even his own fans. Charlie Kirk never advocated for that and was welcoming to people living their life anyway they wish, including gays.
Directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), The Long Walk was projected to reach $20 million by last weekend. Instead, the movie came in at fourth place, and the box office reports show a 50% drop from the initial estimation, reaching only $11.5 million domestically.
Produced by Lionsgate and distributed in 125 locations across the country, the film earned an estimated $125,000 in its opening weekend. Its per-theater average came to roughly $1,000, which came in as a 33-year low for any of Stephen King’s adaptations.
Therefore, it still remains unclear if its low performance is connected to the King’s negative comments about Charlie Kirk after his assassination, but it’s very possible that could’ve turned fans away.
At least one online bookstore has canceled Stephen King after the comments he made.