Russell Crowe’s 103-Minute Horror Pivot Continues To Pay Off on Streaming

Russell Crowe rose to prominence more than 25 years ago with three straight Oscar-nominated performances in The Insider, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, winning an Academy Award for Gladiator. He did not take part in the 2024 legacy sequel, which cast Paul Mescal as Maximus’s son, and his scathing remarks about that follow-up late last year helped push Gladiator II to the top of Paramount+ viewing charts.

In recent years Crowe has moved away from big-budget action and found success in other genres. Three years ago he starred in the horror film The Pope’s Exorcist, which holds a 51% critics score and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $76 million worldwide against an $18 million budget.

In the U.S. the film is streaming on Hulu and HBO Max, and it has appeared in Netflix’s top 10 in several countries. It also ranks among the most popular rentals on Apple TV in a few territories.

United States

russell crowe, pope’s exorcist, gladiator, gladiator ii, paul mescal, streaming, hulu, hbo max, netflix, apple tv