Gladiator II
‘s streaming release date has now been revealed following the Ridley Scott movie’s $455 million box office haul. Serving as a sequel to 2000’s Gladiator, the sword-and-sandal epic hit theaters in November, chronicling how Paul Mescal’s Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, became a hero warrior of the Colosseum. Gladiator 2 reviews were generally positive, if not a little lukewarm, from critics, and the film is set to be a box office disappointment.
Following the film’s VOD release on December 24, Paramount now confirms that Gladiator 2 will debut on Paramount+ on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in the U.S. and Canada. This streaming release date comes almost exactly two months after the film was released into movie theaters. The announcement also confirms that the sequel’s release date on Paramount+ in regions outside of North America will be shared at a later date.
What Gladiator 2’s Streaming Release Date Means For The Movie
The Gladiator Sequel’s Box Office Performance Explained
The age of movies having three-month exclusive theatrical windows is mostly over, save for the odd release from big names like Christopher Nolan or Tom Cruise, and Gladiator‘s impending streaming debut follows this trend. The sequel did its best business during this initial month and showed strong legs over the holiday period, but this past weekend, January 10 – 12, the movie pulled in only $1.2 million. Mind you, it was only on about 1,300 screens, but things are clearly winding down.
Overall, despite names like Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal in the Gladiator 2 cast, the movie will end up being a box office let-down. Made on an estimated budget of $250 million, the sequel was probably looking at a break-even point of at least $500 million, but potentially more. VOD performance will surely help to close the gap between $455 million and $500 million, but it will likely still end up losing money, and this doesn’t bode well for Scott’s Gladiator 3 getting the green light.
Generally, a Hollywood movie needs to earn between two to two-and-a-half times its budget to become profitable.
Our Take On Gladiator 2’s Streaming Release
The Ridley Scott Film Will Likely Succeed On Paramount+
On Rotten Tomatoes, Gladiator 2 has a lukewarm 71% critics’ score, but the audience score is higher at 82%. Generally, it seems as if casual movie-goers have enjoyed Scott’s return to Ancient Rome, and this suggests that the film will be a hit when it comes to streaming. Streaming success, at this point, seems unlikely to move the needle on a potential feature film follow-up to the Gladiator 2 ending, but it could soften the lackluster box office performance.
At the very least, Gladiator 2 marks an improvement over Scott’s last movie, Napoleon, which was a box office flop that earned mixed reviews. The filmmaker is still one of the best in the business when it comes to pulling off complex, large-scale action sequences, and audiences will soon get to relive the film’s battles when the movie arrives on Paramount+ next week.
Source: Paramount
