Alan Ritchson’s New Action Movie Smashes Competition in Digital Debut

After a robust theatrical run, Alan Ritchson's new action movie has finally landed on the PVOD market. This is the star's home turf. Over the last five years, Ritchson has emerged as a major draw at home thanks to the titular role in Prime Video's Reacher. The show, based on the bestselling novels by Lee Child, recently concluded its fourth season, which delivered near-unanimous acclaim and record-breaking viewership. Earlier this year, Ritchson headlined the sci-fi action movie War Machine, which remains the most-watched Netflix original of the year with more than 150 million views. His new movie may not have performed wonders at the box office — the film grossed around $14 million domestically against a reported $45 million budget — but it's certainly positioned to do incredibly well at home.

Early signs have been impressive. The film made its debut on the iTunes leaderboard immediately after being released on digital. According to FlixPatrol, it's already among the 10 most-watched films domestically, despite facing competition from fellow new home video releases such as Practical Magic 2, Hope, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Also starring Owen Wilson, the action film was distributed domestically by Angel, the outfit that carved a niche for itself with faith-based films. Angel is now attempting to break into the mainstream with genre movies that have religious undercurrents. Ritchson's film follows a courier and an ex-soldier on a mission to deliver a liver to a dying young girl while fending off cartel goons.

Alan Ritchson's New Movie Is Already a Fan-Favorite

We're talking, of course, about Runner. Directed by Scott Waugh, who previously made Need for Speed and The Expendables 3, the film received mostly positive reviews from critics and crowds upon release. It holds a 78% critics' score and a "Verified Hot" 90% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Fast and gleefully over-the-top, Runner makes the most of Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson's winning chemistry to deliver crowd-pleasing action and humor with plenty of heart."