Alan Ritchson’s ‘Runner’ Achieves Third-Best Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating
Alan Ritchson has quietly established himself as one of the busiest leading men in action cinema this year. With a hit streaming series and a series of feature films, the actor has gained a reputation for consistently delivering what genre fans crave, night after night, release after release.
His latest film continues this impressive streak, attracting both critics and audiences even as the broader theatrical landscape remains unpredictable for mid-budget action films.
The film in question is ‘Runner,’ the new thriller from Angel Studios that pairs Ritchson with Owen Wilson. Audience response has been enthusiastic, with over 100 verified ratings contributing to a strong 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, marking it as the third-best audience-rated film of Ritchson’s career.
This places ‘Runner’ just behind ‘Ordinary Angels,’ which boasts a 99% score, and ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,’ which holds a 91% audience rating. For an actor with as diverse a filmography as Ritchson’s, breaking into the top three highlights how well this particular film resonates with ticket buyers.
In ‘Runner,’ Ritchson portrays Hank Malone, a former soldier turned courier in Australia who finds himself racing against time to deliver a liver urgently needed by a dying child. Wilson co-stars as Ben Bishop, an unlikely partner who knows the code to the medical cooler carrying the organ, and together they are pursued by a ruthless cartel led by Damian Zaldívar, played by Rodrigo Santoro.
Directed by Scott Waugh, known for his work on ‘Expend4bles,’ the film features intense, hard-hitting action sequences set against the stunning backdrops of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Critics have had mixed feelings about how well the film balances its violent tone with Wilson’s comedic flair, but the chemistry between the two actors has been consistently praised as the film’s standout element.
New trailer for the action thriller ‘Runner’ starring Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson
It follows an ex-soldier who must outrun a ruthless cartel while delivering a life-saving medical organ
In theaters September 11 🍿 pic.twitter.com/1GZFRYEvRP
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) July 15, 2026
Critical reception has hovered around the 65-70% range on Rotten Tomatoes, a respectable score for a film centered on Ritchson’s physicality and Wilson’s comedic timing. Nonetheless, this critical consensus hasn’t hindered the film’s box office performance, as it has cracked the top five theatrical charts despite facing tough competition from ‘Practical Magic 2,’ ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ and ‘The Odyssey.’
‘Runner’ is projected to earn around $6 million during its opening weekend, a significant increase from Ritchson’s earlier 2026 release ‘Motor City,’ which opened with just $1.69 million. This jump indicates that audiences are actively seeking out his work, a crucial factor for an actor aiming to build a long-term action career.
With his role in season four of ‘Reacher,’ support for the upcoming spinoff ‘Neagley,’ and starring in three feature films this year, including ‘War Machine’ and ‘Motor City,’ Ritchson is arguably experiencing the busiest and most consistently well-received period of his career in 2026. His final release of the year, ‘The Man with the Bag,’ will debut on Amazon on December 2, featuring a star-studded cast that includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Awkwafina, Liza Koshy, and Ken Jeong.
As the year comes to a close with one more film on the horizon, Ritchson is poised to finish a nearly perfect run of audience-approved releases, with ‘Runner’ adding to that impressive momentum.
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