Gladiator II smashes box office record for Ridley Scott as critics label it ‘thrilling’

The belated sequel stars Paul Mescal as Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s slain Roman soldier Maximus

Gladiator II has debuted to an estimated $87m at the international box office, making it the biggest overseas opening for any Ridley Scott film.

Out in theaters now, the director’s long-awaited sequel to his 2000 Gladiator picks up after the events of the original, which featured Russell Crowe as Roman soldier Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as his betrayer Commodus.

Starring Paul Mescal as a grown Lucius, the son of Crowe’s slain Maximus, the new film follows his journey to reclaim Rome and restore it to its former glory. It also features Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, with the latter touted to be a major awards contender.

Not only does Gladiator II’s astounding $87m global opening surpass all other opening weekends for Scott, whose highest-grossing film The Martian (2015) debuted at $54.3m internationally, but it also makes for Paramount Pictures highest international opening weekend for a R-rated film, according to Variety.

Meanwhile, Scott’s first Gladiator raked in $34.8m during its opening weekend before grossing a global total of $430m across its entire theatrical run.

Gladiator II’s total production cost was just under $250m, insiders previously told The Hollywood Reporter. So, it still remains to be seen if the movie will break even, much less make a profit.

Rotten Roman: Paul Mescal in Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator II' (Cuba Scott)

So far, it has received middling critical reviews and currently sits at a lukewarm 75 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey labeled it “thrilling” in her four-star review but noted that Mescal is no Crowe.

However, audiences appear to really enjoy it, with one person tweeting: “Maximus can rest easy, I was indeed entertained.”

“Absolutely great movie,” a second agreed, while a third praised it as “a great sequel to a MASTERPIECE movie.”

“It was a good sequel and should be watched on the big screen!” another declared.

On the other hand, The Independent’s Patrick Smith called it “an awful mess” and questioned what Scott was thinking. “I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Terribly vexed, even,” he wrote. “Scene by scene, Gladiator II just feels... undercooked. There’s no panache, no bombast, no indelible lines.”

In an interview with Gayety, ahead of its release, Washington revealed that his character, ruthless businessman Macrinus, was initially filmed engaging in a same-sex kiss.

“I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it, I think they got chicken,” the 69-year-old actor said. “I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet. I killed him about five minutes later. It’s Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death.”

Gladiator II is playing in theaters now.