Gladiator 2, directed by Ridley Scott, has made a big splash at the box office with a huge opening.
The movie opened at number one around the world this weekend, according to Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore.
Gladiator 2 made $87 million in 63 countries. This makes it the biggest international opening for an R-rated movie from Paramount Pictures and the biggest international opening for a Ridley Scott film.
The movie takes place 20 years after Maximus (played by Russell Crowe) dies. It follows Lucius Verus, who was a young boy in the first Gladiator movie. Now grown-up, Lucius’ home has been destroyed by the Roman Empire. He becomes a gladiator to get revenge, while hiding a secret royal identity.
The movie has a strong cast, including Paul Mescal (Lucius), Pedro Pascal (Acacius), Denzel Washington (Macrinus), Connie Nielsen (Lucilla), Fred Hechinger (Emperor Caracalla), and Joseph Quinn (Emperor Geta).
In its review, Digital Spy said that while Paul Mescal does a good job, Lucius doesn’t have the same strong presence as Maximus. The review also mentioned that the movie doesn’t have any scene as memorable as Maximus’ famous speech from the first film, “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius.”
Right now, Gladiator 2 has a 75% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a little lower than the first movie’s 79%.
The movie is already playing in theaters in the UK and will be released in the US on November 22.