Gladiator surges on VOD and Paramount+ despite on-set rift
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is finding new life on digital platforms. The film streams on Paramount+ and for free on Pluto TV in the U.S., and it recently climbed into the top 10 on iTunes and Google VOD charts in more than 15 countries over the last week. Russell Crowe remains a draw: after a recent theatrical release, Nuremberg, underperformed at the box office but proved a certified audience hit and generated Oscar buzz for Crowe.
He is a three-time Oscar nominee from 1999 to 2001 and won for his work in that period, with many still regarding his turn as Maximus in Gladiator as the high point of his career. The original production was also marked by tensions. Co-star Joaquin Phoenix threatened to walk off the set at one point, behavior Crowe called "unprofessional," though Ridley Scott persuaded him to stay.
Crowe did not take part in Gladiator II, a decision Scott attributed to Maximus’s death in the first film.
United States