Gladiator II and Ridley Scott’s “biggest action sequence” needs quite the box office return

Gladiator II is being positioned as one of the biggest films of 2024. It’ll hit cinemas on 15 November in the UK and 22 November in the United States, being 24 years removed from the original that made waves in 2000. Apparently, the budget is $250 million for this latest Ridley Scott outing. So, the studio has given it the best shot at success with its ideal release date and will undoubtedly be ramping up marketing tenfold in the coming months.

So, the question becomes: can Gladiator II turn a profit this long after the buzz of the original? This is especially poignant as outlets have cited $1 billion being needed to emulate the success of Gladiator 2000. Scott has recently proven his box office draw in a similar arena, though. Even with everyone knowing that it’d quickly be flipped to Apple TV, the rather poor Napoleon still managed to collect $218 million worldwide.

Rome remains hugely popular

Interest in the setting of ancient Rome in entertainment seemingly never fades. From the social media trend of men thinking about Rome daily to the continued reverence for Gladiator 2000 – which made $451 million worldwide and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture – the Roman Empire remains a strong point of interest that can easily fill out cinemas with enough studio backing.

Rome’s presence across all entertainment simply never wanes. In the realm of online games, where stacks of new releases come out every week, there are constantly new Rome-themed works coming to the best-rated sites. With some you can try it now and even keep the bonus winnings – there are ten popular games centred on gladiators and gladiatorial battles. There are another 18 set in Rome more generally.

Along with this constant presence, we’ve also seen Rome hit the headlines in other corners of entertainment media. Starring Anthony Hopkins, the show Those About to Die heated up a fair few debates and leans heavily on gladiatorial games. Then, there’s Ubisoft unveiling that the beloved Anno series of video games will return next year with Anno 117: Pax Romana to bring its fans to ancient Rome.

Trying to recapture the magic of the original

So, you’ve got a guy whose home is destroyed by a tyrannical leader and is then forced into gladiatorial combat at the Colosseum. This main guy seeks revenge against the Emperors who’ve wronged him and will try to rally the people around him to find glory in Rome. If this sounds eerily similar to the original film, it’s because it is, but actually, it’s the plot summary for Gladiator II.

It does link to the original, though, with the main character being the young Lucius from the first film, who revered Maximus all those years ago. It seems he suffers the same fate of his hero and will tread a similar path back. Much like in the original marketing campaign, animals in the arena have been a big selling point. In 2000, it was Russell Crowe and a tiger. In 2024, it’s a charging rhinoceros in the Colosseum.

As such, for anyone who’s experienced the original and has been in touch with modern Hollywood trends, it’d be easy to dismiss Gladiator II as another soulless cash-grab looking to cash in on nostalgia rather than good storytelling. After all, the press releases and interviews have homed in on it having “the biggest action sequence” Scott has ever done.

There are red flags for this just being a superficial retread, but there isn’t any doubt that it’ll be an incredibly appealing release this winter. Hopefully, Gladiator II defies these expectations because the original deserves a top-tier sequel, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The editorial unit