Therefore, with Washington revealing he’ll be a part of Black Panther 3, it’s all but guaranteed to overtake Gladiator II as his biggest box office hit. Even if the third film performs worse than Wakanda Forever, it could make almost $400 million less than its predecessor and still become Washington’s highest-grossing project. Additionally, the MCU has some big movies lined up in the coming years, and ᴀssuming the franchise regains some of its popularity, Black Panther 3 seems destined to be a certified hit, meaning the veteran actor should break his current record if he does feature.

How Gladiator II’s Box Office Compares To Denzel Washington’s Other Hit Movies

Gladiator II Is Washington’s Highest-Grossing Movie By A Pretty Large Distance

With Gladiator II becoming a financial hit, it is now Denzel Washington’s highest-grossing movie by quite some distance. American Gangster was his previous best box office outing, with the film making just shy of $270 million. Philadelphia and Safe House also made over $200 million, and these projects are the closest Washington has come to getting near Gladiator II‘s impressive worldwide total. A major reason for the veteran not having more box office juggernauts is he barely appears in sequels or established franchises, with The Equalizer being the most notable success, yet Washington helped build the cinematic trilogy from scratch.

All three installments of The Equalizer managed to surpᴀss the $190 million mark, proving Washington in a leading role is still a major draw. However, with his upcoming projects looking like they will follow the same tradition of his career, it may take something like Black Panther 3 to overcome Gladiator II and give him the box office giant he deserves. Still, regardless of how much money his films make, Denzel Washington continues to thrive with every new performance, and he’ll be remembered as one of the all-time greats, with or without the Marvel Cinematic Universe.