Gladiator 2 Budget is Insane

Movies

Get set for the next high-profile Hollywood cash-burner… well, probably not the very next one, but one of many upcoming drains. Ridley Scott wrapped filming on the sequel to his 2000 hit Gladiator on January 17, 2024, and initial reports had the budget at $165 million. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s gone way beyond that estimate, with some sources telling THR that the film’s costs have exploded to almost $310 million; other sources from inside Paramount say it’s actually just $250 million. Either way, this movie is costing a lot more than Paramount thought it would, and while somewhere around $10 million is being attributed to the actors’ and writers’ strikes, which halted production, that’s a drop in the bucket even if the costs are on the $250 million low end.

This is insane, and a perfect example of how movie budgets have spun completely out of control. Does anyone think a Gladiator sequel is a solid investment? Does anyone even want this movie? Gladiator is 24 years old, and its main character is dead. Part of the reason Gladiator did so well – aside from being a fantastic movie that everyone loved – is that it starred Russell Crowe at the height of his popularity. He’s not in Gladiator 2, or whatever it’ll be called; the lead is Paul Mescal, someone nobody’s ever heard of, who plays the little kid from the first film as an adult (and a gladiator, presumably, though I don’t know how that’ll work). This doesn’t have the makings of a blockbuster, and while I can sort of understand Ridley Scott trading on his name and prestige to get $160 million for a vanity project, $250 million is idiotic, and $310 million is unhinged. Gladiator cost $103 million to make and earned $465.4 million at the box office; those numbers would be $185.4 million and $850.5 million today. An $850 million haul would probably make the Gladiator sequel profitable, but do you really think this movie will get anywhere near that number, especially without Russell Crowe as Maximus? I’m sure Ridley Scott doesn’t care all that much, but what irresponsible nitwits at Paramount allowed this to happen? Hollywood is like an idiot who comes into a decent chunk of money and blows it in a weekend at Atlantic City (not even Vegas).