‘Gladiator II’ Ends Its Global Box Office With $460 Million

With Gladiator II currently streaming on many digital platforms, it’s clear that the film’s theatrical run is nearing its end. The blockbuster sequel to the 2000 original has made $172 million domestically and $288 million internationally, for a total global box office gross of $460 million. This total puts Gladiator II close to the gross of the original Gladiator, which with its original 2000 release and subsequent re-releases, made a total of $465 million. This total also makes Gladiator II the third highest-grossing film of director Ridley Scott’s career, right behind the original Gladiator and 2015’s The Martian, which made $631 million worldwide.

When compared to Ridley Scott’s other films, this total is impressive. It is especially impressive considering its R-rating and tough competition, coming out the same weekend as Wicked and only a week before Disney’s Moana 2. However, Gladiator II’s global box office pales compared to those two films, with Wicked currently standing at a global box office total of $700 million and Moana 2 already cracking $1 billion worldwide.

In addition to this total box office gross, Gladiator II’s budget must also be considered when measuring its success. The film had an estimated production budget of $250 million. With outside costs such as marketing and distribution in consideration, the film could be considered a minor box office disappointment. This is because, according to Collider, “a film of this size needs to gross twice its production cost to break even.”