Paramount’s Gladiator II, starring Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, has earned $61 million at the box office since its release on November 15. The sequel arrives 24 years after director Ridley Scott’s original Gladiator, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture and four other Oscars, including Best Actor for Russell Crowe.
Plot
The story begins in North Africa, where Roman imperial daughter Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) sent her son, Lucius, to shield him from the corruption and chaos in Rome following the death of her brother, Emperor Commodus. Now grown, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is known as “Hanno.” He’s married to the fierce Arishat (Yuval Gonen) and fights to protect his adopted homeland from Rome’s invading forces. His efforts fail tragically, leaving him widowed and sent back to Rome as a gladiator, mirroring the fate of his father.
What do critics say?
Critics are divided on Gladiator II. Many note that the sequel reuses elements from the original, with a disgraced Roman forced to win over the people in the Colosseum while under the rule of a tyrannical emperor.
Among the positive reviews, Boyd Hilton of Empire Magazine writes: “What could have been a ponderous, predictable sequel to a much-loved Oscar-winner instead turns out to be a fun romp.”
However, others were less impressed. Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair says “Most dismayingly, the grand emotional sweep of the first film is nowhere to be found in Gladiator II. The sequel is epic in length and spectacle, but not in feeling.”
Where is Gladiator II streaming?
As a Paramount film, Gladiator II will eventually stream on Paramount+. Before that, it will be available on digital platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango At Home, as per Forbes. Studios typically release films digitally 45 to 65 days after their theatrical debut, so the earliest digital release date for Gladiator II is January 6, 2025.
