Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II hasn’t even hit theaters in North America yet and it’s already been a box office hit, at least internationally. Set roughly 20 years after the first Gladiator, the story of the sequel follows a now-adult Lucius (Paul Mescal), who was played as a child by Spencer Treat Clark in the original movie, as he gets sucked into gladiatorial combat. As a child, Lucius watched his hero, Maximus (Russell Crowe), succumb to his wounds after killing Lucius’ cruel uncle, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).
Now grown, Lucius finds himself forced to follow the same path as Maximus when his home is overtaken and his lands overtaken by the tyrannical and debauched Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who now rule Rome in its last days. The scheming courtier Macrinus (Denzel Washington) offers to ally with Lucius to help him take down the Emperors. One bright spot for Lucius is that he reunites with his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the first movie), who is now married to the great General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
While Gladiator II is more political intrigue than the first movie, it nonetheless has some epic battle and action sequences. The sequel’s story is arguably a retread of the first movie, but, rather than being a detriment, it would appear international audiences are hungry to return to that world, as it’s already garnered a whopping $87 million in its opening weekend overseas, including $11.5 million in its UK and Ireland debut. Currently, it’s tracking to make between $60-80 million in its opening weekend in North America, a huge number considering it’s going up against Wicked, which is also expected to be a juggernaut heading into the holidays.
Gladiator II certainly needs to perform well, considering it has a reported net budget of $210 million (via Deadline), and it’s not entirely clear that number includes marketing. Part of this was compounded by production needing to be halted thanks to the writers’ and actors’ strikes. However, the majority of it was because Gladiator II was filmed on location in various spots around the world, including Malta, Morocco, and the UK, with massive production sets being erected. Signing big-name veterans like Washington and Pascal, as well as rising stars like Mescal and Quinn, also likely did not come cheap. All that considered, it’s a great sign for Gladiator II making its budget back that it’s already been such a success overseas and is primed for a big opening this weekend.
