Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II has opened at the top of the UK box office in its opening weekend.
The historical epic, a sequel to the Academy Award-winning Gladiator (2000), posted £8.8 million. Screen Daily reports that, including previews, this marks the highest-ever theatrical opening for a Ridley Scott film.
Scott has previously said that anybody who doesn’t like the sequel should “get a life.”
Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus Aurelius, the son of Russell Crowe’s protagonist Maximus from the first film. Lucius becomes a gladiator to take his revenge against the Roman general who invaded his home, and fights for a former slave with plans to overthrow the emperors. The sequel also stars Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.
StudioCanal’s Paddington in Peru falls to second place with £6.8 million, representing a 29.4% drop. The third film in the Paddington franchise has now grossed £18.9 million at the UK box office. It is tracking ahead of Paddington 2 (2017), which had grossed £16.9 million by the same stage.
The Warner Bros. Christmas adventure film Red One is third with £1.4 million, taking its UK box office total to £4.6 million. It is ahead of A24’s Heretic, which posted £505,119 for a cumulative total of £4.9 million.
Venom: The Last Dance is fifth with an additional £398,202. This takes its total to £11.8 million, meaning it will finish as the lowest-grossing entry of the Venom trilogy. However, it has still grossed more than Morbius (2022) and Madame Web (2024) combined.
Universal’s The Wild Robot added £386,653 on its fifth weekend, taking its UK box office total to £13.2 million. Tim Mielants’ Small Things Like These, starring Oscar winner Cillian Murphy, made £324,665 for a £3.04 million total.
Watch the trailer for Gladiator II below.