Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II ranked first on Netflix’s US movie chart in FlixPatrol’s daily tracking for October 22, 2026, a day after its Netflix debut. Ben Affleck’s Animals moved from first to second place in the same rankings.
Netflix added Gladiator II on October 21 alongside the original Gladiator. The additions brought Scott’s 2000 film and its 2024 sequel to the US catalogue together, making both entries available on the same service.
The chart position is a daily US ranking. FlixPatrol’s listing provides positions without viewing totals, so it supplies no audience figure for the sequel’s Netflix debut.
A later stage in the streaming rollout
Gladiator II had already reached subscription streaming before its Netflix arrival. Paramount+ announced on January 17, 2025, that the film would begin streaming in the United States and Canada on January 21.
The sequel opened in US theaters on November 22, 2024. Its Netflix arrival came nearly two years later, extending its streaming distribution after the Paramount+ release. Netflix confirmed both Gladiator films were streaming in an announcement dated October 22, 2026.
Paramount lists Gladiator II’s running time as 148 minutes. Scott returned as director, and David Scarpa wrote the screenplay from a story credited to Scarpa and Peter Craig. The sequel’s 2024 release came 24 years after the original film.
Paul Mescal takes the central role
Paul Mescal plays Lucius, who is forced into gladiatorial combat after Roman forces conquer his home. Set roughly two decades after the original film’s events, the sequel follows his struggle against Rome’s rulers and his effort to draw strength from his past.
Pedro Pascal plays General Marcus Acacius, whose raid kills Lucius’s wife. Her death drives Lucius’s pursuit of revenge. Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn also star, with Quinn playing Emperor Geta. Connie Nielsen returns to the cast, which also includes Fred Hechinger. Nielsen reprises Lucilla, Lucius’s mother, linking the sequel’s central family to the first film.
The original Gladiator followed Russell Crowe’s Maximus, a Roman general who becomes an enslaved arena fighter. Joaquin Phoenix played Commodus, whose actions destroy Maximus’s family and set his revenge story in motion. Gladiator won Best Picture at the 2001 Academy Awards, and Crowe received the Best Actor award. The sequel shifts the central role to Lucius while returning to the Colosseum and Rome’s political conflicts.
Scott’s earlier comments on a third film
Scott discussed another sequel before Gladiator II’s theatrical release. In October 2024, he said of Gladiator 3: “I’ve already got eight pages. I’ve got the beginning of a very good footprint.”
He also said that a possible third film could move away from arena fighting. He described a story about a man unwilling to occupy his position, comparing the ending of Gladiator II with Michael Corleone’s situation in The Godfather. Those comments described an early creative direction and did not include a production start or release date for another installment.
