Amazon MGM Studios’ psychological thriller ‘The Runner,’ starring Gal Gadot, debuted globally on Prime Video on September 2, 2026. The film, directed by Kevin Macdonald, follows a London attorney who must race through the city to save her kidnapped son while following a mysterious caller’s demands.
The movie has been widely panned by critics but has become the most-watched film on Prime Video in the United States and multiple other countries. According to FlixPatrol, ‘The Runner’ reached the No. 1 spot on Amazon Prime’s Top 10 movies list in the U.S. on September 3, 2026, and became the top movie in 38 countries within two days of its release.
Gal Gadot stars as Maia Marten, a high-powered corporate attorney and single mother in London. The plot centers on her morning run, which turns into a desperate race after she receives a phone call from a man, voiced by Damian Lewis, who claims to have abducted her diabetic son, Noah.
The caller demands that Maia keep moving, follow his instructions, and tell no one about the kidnapping. The commands escalate to a demand that she assassinate the star witness in her upcoming trial. The film unfolds in real time across London’s streets and underground tunnels.
The cast includes Damian Lewis as the Caller, Rory Wilmot as Noah Marten, Alfred Enoch as Ted, and Phoenix Di Sebastiani as Radian Tafa. The screenplay was written by Mark Gibson. The film was produced by David Kosse through his London-based production company Rockwood Pictures, marking the company’s first project.
Filming took place in London between April and July 2025. The production utilized a South African camera operator, Myron Mance, who roller skated while operating the camera to keep pace with Gadot’s running. Director Kevin Macdonald said, ‘Our secret weapon was we had this South African camera operator who roller skates and operates perfectly at the same time. He was brilliant. He’d go around crowds, he was sometimes skating up the street between the cars.’
Gal Gadot revealed that she broke her foot during the demanding shoot. She told TODAY, ‘Physically, it affected me amazingly. I was in my best shape ever. But I had to — running was not in my routine. I am not a runner. I had to really prep for it, for nine months.’
The film has received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, ‘The Runner’ holds a critics’ score of 9% based on more than 30 reviews. The audience score stands at approximately 35% to 41%, depending on the time of reporting. The New York Times review stated, ‘Gal Gadot limps ahead as a desperate single mother in a thin race-against-time thriller.’
Variety’s Dennis Harvey wrote that the film ‘has energy but lacks the strong suspense or novelty necessary.’ ScreenRant’s review said, ‘It leaves The Runner a relatively weightless diversion that won’t live long beyond its runtime.’ One critic, Eric Childress, rated the movie 1 out of 4 stars and said, ‘When Lola ran, we felt exhilaration and purpose through some exciting filmmaking. When Gal runs, it’s just running with bad acting, laughable puns, and a moving clock desperate to sell us on the urgency of watching someone jog.’
Despite the critical backlash, ‘The Runner’ has performed well on Prime Video. As of September 21, 2026, the film ranked No. 4 on the platform’s top 10 most-watched Prime Original films worldwide for the week of September 21-27. Earlier, it had topped the charts in the U.S. and other countries.
Gal Gadot addressed the physical challenges of the role in an interview with UPI. ‘It was extremely intense,’ she said. ‘The running part of it all was just a challenge I had to conquer every day, because it was really running day to night. For me, the hardest thing, performance-wise, was the fact that I couldn’t share my screen with a partner, which is the thing I love to do most when I act.’
She also discussed the film’s themes about technology and surveillance. ‘I always think about it. I try to do my best to enforce my daughter’s phone and limit the hours and screen time and all of that,’ Gadot told UPI. ‘It’s amazing how, by the way, they become like hackers. It’s quite impressive. But, yes, I’m very much aware of it and this is scary, but it’s the world we’re living in.’
No sequel has been announced for ‘The Runner.’ The film’s ending, which features a final phone call that Maia chooses to ignore, has been described by some outlets as a genre signature rather than a setup for a second installment. Gal Gadot is next set to appear in the film ‘Bitcoin,’ about which she told TODAY, ‘AI is here. The train has left the station. Am I afraid of it, am I scared of it? Yes. Am I going to look away and avoid it? No.’
‘The Runner’ should not be confused with the film ‘Runner,’ starring Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson, which opened in theaters on September 11, 2026, through Angel Studios. That film has grossed approximately $13.6 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million to $45 million.