Russell Crowe's 155-Minute Action Epic Conquers Streaming Charts

Published Aug 3, 2026, 3:52 PM EDT Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty. However, one of his proudest achievements is editing a Leonardo DiCaprio freakout compilation that has over 150K views on YouTube. Adam also fancies himself an amateur film critic on his personal website. Russell Crowe's action epic is taking over the streaming charts. One of Hollywood's most commanding stars during the early 2000s, Crowe broke through with acclaimed performances in L.A. Confidential (1997) and The Insider (1999), the latter earning him his first Oscar nomination. After receiving another nod for A Beautiful Mind (2001), he went on to star in action movies like Master and Commander (2003), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Robin Hood (2010), Man of Steel (2013), Noah (2014), The Nice Guys (2016), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). Now, one of his most legendary action epics is storming the streaming charts. Over 25 years after its release, Gladiator is conquering the streaming charts. Directed by Ridley Scott, the 2000 action epic stars Russell Crowe as Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who, after the ruthless emperor kills his family and condemns him to a life of slavery, is forced to become a gladiator and embarks on a relentless quest for revenge. Now, Gladiator is No. 10 on Pluto TV's Top 10 movies in the United States for today, August 3. It ranks below Top Gun: Maverick in first place, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Infinite, Clueless, Mean Girls, The Ten Commandments, Top Gun, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and The Godfather in ninth place. Gladiator is also streaming on Paramount+. For this week, Gladiator also ranks on the Apple TV Store's Top 10 movies in several countries, including Azerbaijan, the Dominican Republic, Latvia, Moldova, Singapore, Ukraine, and Vietnam, and appears on Google's Top 10 movies in one country – Argentina. Other than Russell Crowe in the lead role, Gladiator's cast also includes Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris, David Hemmings, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, Ralf Möller, Spencer Treat Clark, Tommy Flanagan, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Omid Djalili, Giannina Facio, and Giorgio Cantarini. Its script was written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson. At the time of its release in 2000, Gladiator received rave reviews, resulting in an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics praising Russell Crowe for delivering a commanding and career-defining performance that anchors Ridley Scott's lavish recreation of ancient Rome with raw emotion, intensity, and a powerful sense of humanity, although its grim revenge story may not appeal to everyone. With an 87% audience score, Gladiator was also a big box office hit, making $466 million worldwide against its $103 million budget to become the second-highest-grossing movie of 2000 behind Mission: Impossible 2 ($546M). Gladiator also went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, and received additional nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Director (Ridley Scott), and Best Original Screenplay. Now, conquering the streaming charts over 25 years later, it's clear that Gladiator still knows how to win over a crowd. Release Date May 5, 2000 Runtime 155 minutes Director Ridley Scott Writers David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson Sequel(s) Gladiator II