Jason Statham’s Latest Movie Is A Box Office Bomb, But It Has A Fan In Stephen King

Thanks to macro-scale ugly developments in our world, Stephen King hasn’t been nearly as active on social media in the last couple years as he used to be, and that’s a shame. In addition to it just being nice to get regular updates from the author and preview what’s going on in his mind, his posts are fun – be they groan-worthy dad jokes or pictures of his delightful corgi, Molly aka the Thing of Evil. The biggest loss, however, has been his commentary/mini-reviews of new movies, shows and books he’s been checking out. Fortunately, he does still post occasionally, and this week, he offered thoughts about a new Jason Statham action flick that most people ignored on the big screen earlier this year.

That’s not the only story I have for you in this week’s edition of The King Beat, however, as the past seven days have also seen news about an anniversary re-release of Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me and the first information about a new Stephen King novel set for 2027. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

Jason Statham’s Shelter Hasn’t Made Much Of An Impression On Audiences, But Stephen King Calls It ‘Terrific’

Between Meg 2: The Trench, The Beekeeper and A Working Man, Jason Statham has had some solid box office wins in the last few years. His projects don’t tend to be acclaimed blockbusters, but they tend to find worldwide success… or at least they did, until the arrival of his latest film: director Ric Roman Waugh’s Shelter. Released in late January, the 2026 movie definitely qualified as an early-in-the-year bomb – but in the search for any positive outcomes, it can at least be said that Stephen King is a fan.

Shelter arrived in theaters on January 30, and the weekend had so much big box office news (Send Help debuting at number one, Iron Lung making a huge impression as an independent release, and Melania proving to be a terrible investment) that its arrival and disappointing performance was mostly overlooked. One of the most beloved authors of all time recently made a point of seeing the movie, however, and in a post on Bluesky, he hails it as “terrific.” He writes,

Also starring Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie, and newcomer Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Shelter stars Jason Statham as Michael Mason: a government assassin who has made the call to leave his violent world behind and find peace secretly living alone on a Scottish island. Unfortunately, this peace proves to be short-lived, as his location is discovered, and when his former handler sends killers to try and take him out, he is forced to go on the run.

The movie can’t exactly be called a big budget blockbuster, with Variety reporting that it was produced with a $50 million price tag (a figure that doesn’t include publicity and marketing costs), but it cost enough to be considered a major box office disappointment. Despite playing in over 2,700 locations in the United States and Canada, it only made $5.5 million in its opening weekend and placed sixth in the weekend Top 10. Its theatrical presence faded through February, resulting in it earning just $12.8 million to date, and circumstances aren’t really being improved by its overseas performance either, as the film has only made $29.3 million in foreign markets (I’ll save you the math: its global earnings to date total just $42.1 million).

At this stage in the game, an endorsement from Stephen King probably isn’t improving the legacy of Shelter at the box office (its theatrical run is already over)… but it at least can be said that the social media review has earned the film some very positive notice at a time when practically nobody is paying attention to it. Hell, I’m writing about it in this column, right? If you’re now curious to see the title that has successfully earned the stamp of approval from the author, the movie is now available to rent and/or purchase digitally from all major online retailers.

Stand By Me Is Returning To Theaters To Celebrate The Classic’s 40th Anniversary

To put it plainly, Stand By Me is a special movie. It was released in theaters 40 years ago, and features a story that is principally set nearly 70 years ago, and yet, its story is perfectly timeless – capturing something beautiful and universally true about the experience of growing up and the powerful friendships that we forge when we are young. For fans, there is no number of times one can watch the film without being awed by it, and if you consider yourself such a person, you should be aware that a special big screen re-release is on the way.

While Stand By Me won’t technically celebrate its official anniversary until August (on August 22, to be exact), the film’s landmark birthday is being celebrated later this month with a new theatrical engagement. The classic Stephen King adaptation will be scheduling screenings in select cinemas for a full week starting on March 27.

Of course, what adds extra significance to this event is that this anniversary is the first following the tragic death of director Rob Reiner at the end of last year. Stand By Me has been much discussed in the months since that news broke, as it’s easily considered one of the man’s greatest accomplishments in his dazzling career, and what better way to celebrate the work and the man than by seeing it as it was originally intended to be seen?

To find a cinema location nearest you where Stand By Me screenings will be held, simply head over to the release’s page on Fandango, plug in your zip code, and check the listings.

In The Wake Of The Other Worlds Than These News, A New Stephen King Novel Has Been Announced For 2027

When it came to Stephen King’s book announcement for 2026, Constant Readers had to exhibit an extra touch of patience. While King spent much of 2025 hyping his work on the third book in the Talisman series, he kept us waiting for an official release announcement, and it wasn’t until just a couple weeks ago that he finally revealed the title (Other Worlds Than These) and a publication date (October 6). I suspect that a lot of you have already put in pre-orders for your version of choice – be it hardcover, eReader or audiobook editions – but you should keep your wallet open, as pre-orders are also now available for a new King book coming in 2027.

Last summer, I wrote a segment of The King Beat dedicated to a new serial project that the author was contributing to called The End Times – a fictional newspaper published for a post-apocalyptic world – and that project is now being turned into a full-length novel. The tome, which will be titled The End Times: Volume One, is the result of a collaboration between King and comic book writer/novelist Benjamin Percy, and it’s being published by Bad Hand Books.

The thrust of The End Times is Mary Poole – a dedicated writer and editor living in Minnesota in the aftermath of a deadly pandemic devastating global society. When she discovers an old printing press, she gets to work starting to produce a small-town newspaper, but her purely positive intentions end up finding serious consequences. Per the publisher, “Mary soon discovers there are other, more sinister agendas at work as well.”

As a special extra bonus for Stephen King fans, the project expands on the “lore” of Richard Bachman – King’s pseudonym originally used to publish books including The Long Walk, The Running Man, and Thinner. One of the contributors to Mary’s local newspaper is none other than Claudia Inez Bachman, who is Richard Bachman’s “wife.”

For the book, the material from The End Times newspaper will be reformatted, but for those of you who already read the serialized version, the bound release apparently won’t just be a reprinting of what already exists, as there are plans for the release to include “exclusive material not included in the original serial” as well.

At a pre-shipping cost of $29.99, the novel is available now for pre-order on the Bad Hand Books website. A specific release date has not yet been announced (they are targeting shipping in “early 2027”), but part of the proceeds will go towards a good cause, as Ben Percy is a Minnesota native, and $1 of every book sold from the publisher will go to benefit mutual aid efforts in Minneapolis amid the current strife taking place in the city.

That brings me to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but the flow of new Stephen King updates never stops, so you can expect me to be right back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with a fresh roundup of all the big news going on concerning the writer and his work.