Gladiator II has found a second life on streaming. The historical action epic is officially the No. 1 movie on Netflix in the U.S., just one day after arriving on the streaming service.
According to FlixPatrol’s Netflix rankings, Gladiator II took the top spot on Oct. 22, the day after it was added to Netflix, and has remained No. 1 as of Oct. 23. It dethroned Ben Affleck’s new thriller Animals, which occupied the top spot on Netflix’s U.S. movie chart for several days.
It’s a notable streaming feat for Ridley Scott’s massive sequel, which arrived in theaters in 2024 with the difficult task of following one of the most acclaimed historical epics ever made.
‘Gladiator II’ Is No. 1 on Netflix
The 2024 sequel returns viewers to ancient Rome, this time following Lucius, played by Paul Mescal, as he is forced into the Colosseum after his home is conquered.
Washington plays Macrinus, a powerful figure who has his own ambitions for Rome, while Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger round out the principal cast.
The movie was a major theatrical production, reportedly carrying a budget of around $250 million and ultimately earning more than $462 million worldwide. While that wasn’t considered the kind of theatrical performance expected from a sequel of its scale, the movie’s reception wasn’t nearly as negative as its reputation might suggest.
Gladiator II currently holds a 70% Tomatometer score from critics and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s critics consensus praises the movie as an action spectacle while specifically highlighting Washington’s performance.
That doesn’t mean critics thought it matched the original.
One of the more common criticisms of Gladiator II was that it leaned heavily on the formula and mythology of the first movie rather than establishing an identity entirely of its own. Metacritic currently gives the film a 64, with the site’s collection of reviews landing in the “generally favorable” range.
Still, plenty of viewers are perfectly happy to embrace the sequel for what it is: a giant Ridley Scott action movie with elaborate arena battles, political intrigue, and a standout performance from Washington.
‘Gladiator II’ Had One Big Problem: It Wasn’t the Original
That’s where the sequel faced an almost impossible comparison.
The first Gladiator, released in 2000, won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. More than two decades later, Gladiator II had to convince audiences that there was still a reason to return to the same world without Crowe’s Maximus at its center.
MovieWeb recently revisited some of the sequel’s shortcomings, including criticism surrounding the decision to continue the story without the original film’s central star. The outlet also pointed to the ways Gladiator II sometimes struggles under the weight of its predecessor.
Even reviews that weren’t particularly impressed by the sequel often singled out its spectacle and Washington’s performance. Rotten Tomatoes’ current consensus similarly emphasizes the film’s larger-than-life action and Washington’s scene-stealing turn.
