200 million dollar budgets are usually reserved for Marvel or DC blockbusters. $300 million dollar budgets are typically reserved for “Avengers”-level movies. But Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2” sequel apparently has a budget that has ballooned up to $310 million, according to a new report in The Hollywood Reporter.
Initially budgeted at $165 million, Paramount insiders insist to THR the net cost of the 49-day shoot was under $250 million. The original “Gladiator” budget was $103 million in 2000; adjusted for inflation, that would be $188 million today.
One source told the trade about the production. “It’s a runaway. It’s not being managed.”
The strikes apparently account for some of that money; the production shutdowns starting in July reportedly cost $600,000 a week, or a total of about $10 million, until Scott resumed shooting in December. THR alleges that Scott “kept cameras rolling during the work stoppages, shooting extras at crowd scenes in Malta, where he built a Coliseum set.”
“Gladiator 2” has been plagued with issues since it began. A stunt accident in July sent four crewmembers to the hospital with non-life-threatening burn injuries, and the same month, the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) alleged that the production of “Gladiator 2” engaged in the mistreatment of animals during its shoot.