Popcorn and IMAX is the new bread and circus, and "Gladiator II" is the star attraction. Here's why the sequel is blowing away the box office.
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00:00How does it feel?"
00:02"...epic."
00:03Popcorn and IMAX is a new bread and circus, and Gladiator 2 is the star attraction.
00:07Here's why the sequel is blowing away the box office.
00:11If any cast member in Gladiator 2 all but guaranteed the film's box office success,
00:15it was Denzel Washington as Macrinus.
00:17For one thing, the actor is so selective with his roles that moviegoers pay attention whenever
00:22he pops up in a new film.
00:23He's also one of the few remaining movie stars, as evidenced by his extraordinary box office
00:28track record.
00:29Out of his last 13 movies, 11 grossed over $57 million domestically, while eight cleared
00:35$80 million in North America.
00:37Meanwhile, Denzel's pre-2009 films include box office hits like American Gangster, Remember
00:42the Titans, and Philadelphia.
00:44For moviegoing audiences, Denzel is connected to both highly acclaimed Oscar darlings as
00:48well as crowd-pleasing dramas.
00:50Plus, unlike most esteemed dramatic actors, he hasn't headlined a huge sequel like Gladiator
00:552 before.
00:56I think this is the biggest film I've been on."
00:59With no Marvel or DC blockbuster under his belt, there's something special about seeing
01:03Denzel star in a big, budgeted movie on IMAX screens.
01:06So seeing as he's one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, it's no surprise that
01:10he helped Gladiator 2 reach its full box office potential.
01:14By the time Wicked and Gladiator 2 premiered in North America on November 22nd, the actors
01:19involved in the films were already sick of the term Glickid, which smashed the two titles
01:24together.
01:25Glickid was meant to herald the arrival of a new Barbenheimer, but people connected to
01:28the blockbusters found the term ridiculous.
01:31However, pairing up these two tonally opposed features did get some extra hype going.
01:35The week these projects dropped, a Fandango poll revealed that nearly two-thirds of people
01:39surveyed were extremely intrigued by the idea of watching Gladiator 2 and Wicked back-to-back.
01:45More importantly, theatrical moviegoing is something that cannot survive on one film
01:48alone.
01:49People who enjoy the theatrical experience usually want to go back and experience it
01:53again.
01:54Gladiator's hype surrounding Wicked put all eyes on people's local multiplexes and undoubtedly
01:58placed Gladiator 2 on many radars.
02:01After all, a rising tide lifts all boats, especially when that tide is confined to a
02:05nearby cinemag.
02:07Gladiator 2 wasn't just a legacy sequel to any old movie, it was following up a Best
02:11Picture Oscar winner.
02:13When it came out in 2000s, Gladiator was one of the highest-grossing movies of the year.
02:17It also dominated at the Academy Awards, taking home five Oscars while enduring for years
02:21to come.
02:23"...are you not entertained?"
02:25Then there were the serious movies made in the mold of Gladiator, like Alexander and
02:28Troy, all of which tried to make the Gladiator lightning strike twice.
02:32Thanks to all that, Gladiator's esteemed place in pop culture was assured, and no other 21st-century
02:37historical epic has come close to overtaking its pop culture notoriety.
02:42Expectations were incredibly high for Gladiator 2, as audiences wouldn't settle for a lackluster
02:46sequel.
02:47Yet, despite the risk of a potential backlash if the film didn't live up to the hype, revisiting
02:52the world of Gladiator proved too enticing for people to pass up.
02:56From Twilight in 2008 to Frozen 2 in 2019, 11 consecutive movies opened to $60 million
03:03plus domestically over the pre-Thanksgiving weekend.
03:06Dropping a film over the pre-holiday weekend not only helps create a lofty three-day bow,
03:10it also positions a blockbuster to play over the ensuing Thanksgiving week.
03:14Gladiator 2 continued this phenomenon with finesse.
03:17Although the film narrowly missed out on being another $60 million plus pre-Thanksgiving
03:21opener, its opening week box numbers were still great.
03:25Let's briefly compare Gladiator 2 to a recent failure, Terminator Dark Fate.
03:29By the time Dark Fate arrived in theaters in November 2019, the Terminator saga had
03:33been exploited well beyond its capacity.
03:36Over the 16 years before Dark Fate's debut, there had been three other 21st-century Terminator
03:41sequels, as well as a multi-season Fox TV show.
03:44It's no wonder, then, that even the return of Linda Hamilton failed to get fans all juiced
03:48up for more.
03:49At this point, there was nothing special in seeing the Terminator name on a brand new
03:52movie or TV show.
03:54Gladiator 2, however, didn't arrive with such a problem.
03:57Since there have been no TV shows or spinoffs, Gladiator 2 feels special.
04:00Unlike Dark Fate, it didn't have to contend with numerous subpar extensions.
04:04This allowed the sequel to benefit from Gladiator's enduring legacy.
04:082024 has been a quiet year for Paramount Pictures.
04:12Aside from the family movie Transformers 1, which came out in September, the studio hasn't
04:16launched a major new wide release since A Quiet Place Day One at the end of June.
04:20That five-month gap may have left movie theaters a little emptier than usual, but it also ensured
04:25that Paramount put all of its marketing resources behind Gladiator 2.
04:29"...you will be my instrument."
04:31Reports of how much it cost to promote Gladiator 2 run as high as $100 million, a staggering
04:36sum for an R-rated epic with zero family appeal.
04:39And seeing as the film opened the same day as Wicked, it certainly gave Paramount an
04:43added incentive to put all its resources behind launching the sequel.
04:47In the end, concentrating exclusively on this feature for months paid off for Paramount.
04:51Gladiator 2 had the second-biggest domestic launch for a Paramount Pictures movie since
04:55Top Gun Maverick in May 2022.
04:57At the risk of beating a dead horse, Terminator Genisys and Dark Fate both exemplified the
05:03wrong way to market legacy sequels.
05:05These follow-ups hinged their marketing campaigns on promising more Arnold Schwarzenegger, which,
05:09in theory, would make them bulletproof nostalgia-fests.
05:12However, the tactic made it difficult to distinguish one follow-up from the next.
05:16Gladiator 2 might have fallen into that trap if it had featured Russell Crowe somehow coming
05:20back from the dead for more vengeance.
05:22Instead, the plot shifts to a grown-up version of Lucius and a slew of new characters occupying
05:27familiar Roman territories.
05:28Only Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacoby return from the first Gladiator in a prominent capacity.
05:33By constantly emphasizing the new characters played by Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal,
05:39Paramount was able to reassure prospective moviegoers that Gladiator 2 was something
05:42new and fresh.
05:44The new characters were also shown in many of the trailers and posters, thus giving audiences
05:48more reason to see Gladiator 2.
05:50In the end, this technique proved to be mighty lucrative at the box office, as audiences
05:54were offered a nice blend of both old and new.
05:57The biggest Ridley Scott movies of all time reflect one truth.
06:00If audiences know the legendary director is doing an epic production full of visual effects,
06:04they show up for it.
06:05Of course, flops like The Last Duel and Exodus, Gods & Kings also exist in this space, but
06:10more often than not, Scott's reputation for delivering the goods usually wins out.
06:14He's a visionary in what he sees and how he puts it together.
06:19His presence on Gladiator 2 was especially reassuring given how closely he's connected
06:23to the original film.
06:24The sequel wasn't some new artist trying to do a Ridley Scott impression.
06:28It was the original maestro coming back to the Coliseum for more grisly Roman carnage.
06:32The prospect, combined with Scott's track record, did a lot to inform Gladiator 2's
06:36big opening weekend.
06:38Scott's enduring box office allure was also seen just 12 months before Gladiator 2 opened.
06:42In late November 2023, his historical epic Napoleon dominated that year's Thanksgiving
06:47box office and even had a bigger, three-day opening weekend than the Disney animated film
06:52Wish, a staggering result given how the studio typically dominates Thanksgiving weekend.
06:56Basically, people heard Ridley Scott was doing a grand Napoleon movie, and they showed up
07:00in huge numbers for it.
07:02If a film like Napoleon could put up strong numbers, then Gladiator 2 was a virtual cinch
07:06to crush the box office a year later.
07:09That's the power of a filmmaking legend like Ridley Scott.
07:12Reviews for Gladiator 2 have been somewhat mixed, but mostly positive.
07:16There's not much hatred for Gladiator 2, but many critics found it a bit too derivative
07:20of its predecessor.
07:21Some also had negative things to say about Paul Metzger's lead performance.
07:25In a shrewd move, however, Paramount Pictures started screening Gladiator 2 a month before
07:29the film's release.
07:30The initial reactions were scarce, but a handful of social media reviews were extremely
07:34positive.
07:35Oscar buzz for Denzel Washington started brewing almost the moment these reactions hit the
07:39web, while hopes rose that Scott had created something that lived up to the beloved original.
07:43More nuanced reactions followed by the time Gladiator 2's release approached, four weeks
07:47before its proper theatrical debut.
07:49Gladiator 2 was greeted with largely positive marks, giving the sequel ample time to generate
07:53a positive reputation with moviegoers.
07:56Furthermore, Gladiator 2 opened in most international territories a week before its North American
08:00launch, where it scored terrific box office numbers.
08:03That helped the film receive even more positive headlines before it began playing in multiplexes
08:08across the U.S.
08:09So, Paramount Pictures made sure the film was out there getting acclaim before it opened
08:13in North America.
08:14The weekend Gladiator 2 debuted, only two other movies, Wicked and Red One, made a splash
08:19at the box office.
08:20That fact highlights the lack of compelling new releases that people want to see on the
08:23big screen, including other R-rated action movies.
08:26There have been plenty of high-grossing R-rated movies, sure, just not in the first few weeks
08:30of November 2024.
08:31So, those seeking a movie that got their adrenaline pumping were largely out of luck.
08:37Gladiator 2 swooped in to become the savior these moviegoers had been looking for.
08:40While Ridley Scott's latest movie probably would have registered as a big cinematic experience
08:45under any circumstances, in a theatrical landscape devoid of other R-rated action, it had no
08:49other competition.
08:50If you wanted to see heads getting chopped off, Gladiator 2 was your only option.
08:54Over the next few weeks, barely any other movies would challenge Gladiator 2's supremacy.
09:01The refusal of major studios to give movie theaters a steady lineup of new releases is
09:05a big problem for the industry, but it did ensure that Gladiator 2 could become a box
09:09office hit.
09:11In the post-Avatar world of 2010 and 2011, studios that wanted their films to be taken
09:16seriously as major moviegoing events largely embraced digital 3D.
09:20In 2024, the equivalent to that phenomenon is premium large-format screens.
09:25Major ten-pole films are practically required to be released in IMAX, Dolby Digital, or
09:29Cinemark XD if they want to be taken seriously.
09:32Unsurprisingly, Gladiator 2 was shown in these formats during its domestic launch.
09:36However, it did come with a wrinkle, as Wicked and Gladiator 2 had to share IMAX screens
09:40during their opening weekend.
09:42But seeing as Gladiator 2 was penciled in for a November 22nd release first, it appears
09:46the sequel got preferential treatment for IMAX screens.
09:49The film was even shown at the biggest IMAX screen in New York City.
09:53Whatever behind-the-scenes battles went down for premium screen real estate, Gladiator
09:572 clearly flourished in the formats.
09:58IMAX ticket sales alone made up 17 percent of its domestic opening weekend, accounting
10:03for roughly $9 million of its North American launch.
10:06Other large screen formats contributed another 11 percent to its domestic gross, or roughly
10:11$6 million.
10:12That means a little over a fourth of Gladiator 2's domestic opening weekend sales were on
10:17account of these pricier viewing experiences.
10:19Putting a grand spectacle like Gladiator 2 on these large format screens clearly inspired
10:23people to come out in droves.
10:25That said, IMAX remains a powerhouse of modern box office success.