Run: Sarah Paulson thriller broke Hulu records in its first weekend

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The thriller RUN, directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring Sarah Paulson, was just released on the Hulu streaming service on November 20th – and it only took the movie three days to break records. Over the course of its opening weekend, RUN became Hulu's "most watched feature title ever" and the "most talked about Hulu Original Film to date on Twitter". Even Stephen King was tweeting about this flick.

RUN (Hulu): No extraneous bullshit. Just nerve-splintering terror.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 24, 2020

Written by Chaganty with Sev Ohanian, RUN has the following synopsis: 

They say you can never escape a mother’s love… but for Chloe, that’s not a comfort — it’s a threat. There’s something unnatural, even sinister about the relationship between Chloe and her mom, Diane. Diane has raised her daughter in total isolation, controlling every move she’s made since birth, and there are secrets that Chloe's only beginning to grasp. From the visionary writers, producers and director of the breakout film Searching, comes a suspense thriller that shows that when mom gets a little too close, you need to RUN.

Paulson is joined in the cast by Kiera Allen, Onalee Ames, and Pat Healy.

Hulu didn't reveal specific viewership numbers, but did confirm that RUN got more viewers than both their Originals and licensed SVOD titles.

This is a great success not only for Hulu, but also for a film that was originally meant to have a theatrical release. Lionsgate had been aiming to get RUN into theatres on Mother's Day weekend this year, but handed the film over to Hulu when the pandemic got in the way of those theatrical plans.

I was not among RUN's opening weekend viewers, but I will be watching the movie soon.