LOSER’S WALK: Following Stephen King spewing lies about Charlie Kirk, his new movie is flopping at the box office

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Stephen King’s The Long Walk flopped in its first week at the box office, earning just $11 million after opening Sept. 12.

The film, executive-produced by King and starring Mark Hamill, struggled amid backlash over King’s false claims about Charlie Kirk. In an X post, the controversial author and notorious critic of President Trump justified Kirk’s assassination.

“He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin,’” wrote King, falesly referring to Kirk.

Liberals and leftists have falsely claimed Kirk supported stoning gays, a charge he never made once during his career as a political commentator. Still, King amplified the lie, but then later admitted he was wrong, deleted his post, and apologized. Unfortunately for King, the damage was already done.

“I apologize for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays,” he wrote. “What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages.”

King also replied several times to other X users that he had apologized and admitted he was wrong, even writing to Sen. Ted Cruz: “This is what I get for reading something on Twitter w/o fact-checking. Won’t happen again.”

King’s apology fell flat with many, and at least one bookseller pulled his titles from its website over the slanderous remark about Kirk.

“We thought so much more of you @StephenKing,” Belfast Books said on X, adding “and even though this may harm us financially we’re removing all your books from our website. Absolute abhorrent and ill-informed comment in the first instance that an inchoate apology doesn’t begin to cover. Go further.”

King adaptations have struggled throughout 2025, with The Long Walk marking his third flop this year. The Monkey earned just $14 million in February, while The Life of Chuck managed only $224,000 at its June debut.

Despite the flops and backlash to his recent commentary, King has been desperately attempting to promote the latest adaptation. He posted a video Sunday night demanding that viewers see The Long Walk in theaters. But based on the replies, not many are considering doing so. Some replies also targeted King for appearing unhealthy compared to President Trump. Trump is 79 years old; King will be 78 on Sept. 21.

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