Gladiator II, the long-awaited follow-up to Ridley Scott's Oscar winner, Gladiator, breaks an international box office record for the director. The film's world premiere came on November 13, which coincided with its release in South Korea, Belgium, and . Some countries, including Australia, , Italy, and New Zealand released the movie on the following day, and the United Kingdom on November 15. Gladiator II will come to the U.S. on November 22.

With data from 63 international box office markets, Deadline reports the first weekend saw the movie debut with an estimated $87 million, which marks the biggest overseas opening for director Ridley Scott. The R-rated sequel is sitting at the No. 1 spot in major markets, with the U.K. seeing the most commercial success. Gladiator II opened with $11.4 million at the box office in the U.K., $4.3 million in , $3.8 million in Italy, $3.2 million in Korea, and $3 million in Brazil.

What This Means For Gladiator II

The Gladiator Sequel Has The Tracking To Be Another Ridley Scott Hit

The prolific filmmaker has been a driving force in Hollywood since his first feature period piece, The Duellists won the Best First Feature Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Over the years, the director has brought a list of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including The Martian, both a Golden Globe Award-winner and a box office hit ($639 million globally). The original Gladiator is also one of Scott's highest-grossing movies, which concluded globally at $465 million.

Gladiator II, being the director's biggest international hit during the first weekend, shows promise. While audience reception for the film isn't available yet, the Gladiator sequel has enjoyed a lot of praise from critics. The film has a 75% critical approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes and received an 8/10 rating from Screen Rant. The movie is showing signs as another Ridley Scott's hit.

Our Take On Gladiator II

Should You Go See Gladiator II?

Gladiator II made history in the director's career before its domestic release, which is also a first. Since its release, critics and those living in other countries have compared the sequel to the original. There are key takeaways from Gladiator II’s reviews, and those who are concerned about whether the film will live up to its predecessor shouldn't be worried. The sequel is said to be its own work of art.

The hype for the highly-anticipated period epic is higher than ever. The good news is that audiences in the U.S. don't have to wait much longer. Gladiator II combines historical truth with imagination, taking viewers back to the same ancient world seen in the original two decades later.

Source: Deadline