A new Stephen King show has performed incredibly well on streaming and even broke records, which paves a promising future for Mike Flanagan‘s upcoming projects.

It has been an incredible year for the horror genre. Audiences not only got to witness some unique horror movies, like Good Boy and Weapons, but also got to see some highly acclaimed Stephen King adaptations, like The Long Walk and The Monkey, on the big screen. Even on the small screen, extensions of popular IPs, like Alien: Earth and The Last of Us season 2, left their marks and set the stage for potential follow-ups and sequels.

However, a closer look at Stephen King adaptations in 2025 reveals a changing trend that will impact Mike Flanagan in the near future. The new trend confirms that a Stephen King adaptation formula that previously worked well is now gradually starting to change. Considering the two Stephen King adaptations Mike Flanagan is going to adapt in the future, he will likely benefit a lot from this new trend.

Stephen King Movie Adaptations Have Been Struggling At The Box Office

From a critical standpoint, 2025 delivered an almost flawless streak of Stephen King movie adaptations. The year started on a high note with The Monkey earning an above-average Rotten Tomatoes score of 77%. After its theatrical release in June, The Life of Chuck also earned the title of being one of the best non-horror takes on Stephen King’s works. The Long Walk was no less acclaimed as viewers and critics worldwide appreciated its performances and portrayal of the terrors of authoritarian regimes.

2025’s final Stephen King adaptation, The Running Man, has received relatively mixed reviews but still holds a decent Rotten Tomatoes score of 66%. Unfortunately, out of all these movies, only one, The Monkey, managed to leave its mark at the box office. Despite earning critical acclaim, all other Stephen King big-screen adaptations this year struggled to break even. The Running Man‘s theatrical run has not ended yet, but the early numbers are not looking too good.

Interestingly, the two Stephen King TV adaptations of 2025, The Institute and It: Welcome to Derry, have performed really well. The Institute has already been renewed for season 2, while It: Welcome to Derry has been shattering viewership records on HBO. This is surprising because Stephen King’s TV adaptations have a long history of delivering mixed results. The two Stephen King shows of 2025 prove that TV is gradually becoming a more superior medium for live-action iterations of King’s works.

Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King Movie Adaptations Have Also Had Underwhelming Commercial Performances

Although traces of Stephen King’s influence can be found in nearly every Mike Flanagan show and movie, Flanagan has directly adapted three Stephen King books: Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck. While Gerald’s Game directly landed on streaming after its world premiere at BFI Southbank, Doctor Sleep and The Life of Chuck got theatrical releases.

Like most Mike Flanagan adaptations, all three movies garnered a positive reception from viewers and critics. However, Doctor Sleep and The Life of Chuck were both box office failures. Even after being hailed as one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time, The Life of Chuck could not even recover its production budget, let alone break even.

Both films highlight a concerning trend where Mike Flanagan’s big screen takes on Stephen King’s works struggle commercially even though the director’s TV adaptations are usually massive hits.

Fortunately, Flanagan’s Two Upcoming Stephen King Adaptations Will Be TV Shows

Custome Image by Yeider Chacon

Mike Flanagan is currently attached to two Stephen King projects: Carrie and The Dark Tower. Both adaptations are expected to be TV shows, and Carrie‘s production has also been in full swing.

Considering the commercial performance of 2025’s two Stephen King shows and Flanagan’s better success rate with TV adaptations, Carrie and The Dark Tower already seem to have a promising future. While only time will tell how they will turn out, they seem to benefit a lot from being TV adaptations of King’s works.