Gladiator II has helped to propel Ridley Scott past a major box office milestone. Since its release on November 22, Gladiator II has had a modest showing at the global box office. Though losing out to Wicked in the Barbenheimer-like “Glicked” battle, Gladiator II has enjoyed several notable box office achievements over the course of its run. This has included becoming the highest-grossing film in Denzel Washington’s career, beating out the Equalizer franchise and other notable titles. The movie remains in theaters today, where it now competes with newer releases like Nosferatu, Mufasa: The Lion King, and A Complete Unknown.
As per The Numbers, Gladiator II has now helped director Scott reach a major career milestone. All the films that Scott has directed have now reached a cumulative worldwide box office total of $5 billion. Scott is one of only nine directors ever to achieve this feat, placing on a list that includes Christopher Nolan, David Yates, Michael Bay, Peter Jackson, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, and Steven Spielberg.
What This Means For Ridley Scott
He Is In An Elite Group
This latest achievement puts Scott among an elite box office group. The director had already soared into the top 10 highest-grossing directors of all time earlier this year with the push from Gladiator II, beating out Tim Burton and J.J. Abrams. Scott now sits at no. 9, a position in which he will likely remain unless he is to release a shocking $1 billion hit sometime before the end of his career.
At the time of writing, Gladiator II is the third highest-grossing film in Scott’s career. This is pretty impressive given some of the films that come below it, including Alien franchise films such as Prometheus, Alien, and Alien: Covenant. Having been in theaters for over a month, Gladiator II‘s momentum is starting to slow down. Still, it has the chance to become the second-highest-grossing film in Scott’s career, as it is just over $16 million behind 2000’s Gladiator at the worldwide box office. His highest-grossing film is The Martian.
Our Take On Ridley Scott’s Achievement
He Is Unique Among The Top-Grossing Directors
Scott is kind of rare among the top 10 highest-grossing directors list, as several of his top-grossing films are not part of major franchises. The Martian is based on a book, but is a standalone piece of art. Similarly, though Gladiator II is a sequel, the first film was an original IP, rather than a comic book adaptation or an established property, as in the case of Nolan or the Russo brothers. Aided by Gladiator II, Scott’s most recent record is a testament to the strength of his career.
The Artsy Film Blog 