Russell Crowe’s Relationship-Ending Masterpiece Is Finally a Sleeper Hit After Switching Streamers

Russell Crowe is in the middle of promoting his new WWII movie, Nuremberg, but long before he ever stepped into the shoes of infamous Nazi Hermann Göring, he played a legendary hero in an action movie that’s dominating streaming. Crowe stars alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen in Gladiator, the 2000 period action epic following Maximus as he escapes enslavement and goes on an epic revenge mission.Gladiator recently switched streaming homes from Prime Video to Starz at the beginning of October, and the film has since surged into the global top 10 in several countries.

While the final product that comes through on the big screen with Gladiator is a delight, Crowe and his co-stars' journey to deliver us that product wasn’t as smooth. Crowe famously got into a bit of a skirmish on set with his co-star Joaquin Phoenix, who threatened to walk off the set one day right before shooting a take — he was wearing his full outfit and everything. This prompted Crowe to remark about how “terribly unprofessional”such behavior is, but they ultimately put differences aside and were able to make one of the greatest movies ever. The duo has not worked together again in the 25 years since.

Ridley Scott directed Gladiator, and with an impressive career dating back more than 50 years, it’s still one of his most famous works of all time. Scott and Crowe continued to collaborate throughout the 2000s, including teaming up in 2006 on A Good Year and 2007 on American Gangster. The former co-stars Marion Cotillard and the latter features Denzel Washington. Crowe and Scott even worked together more in 2008 and 2010 on Body of Lies and Robin Hood.

How Can You Watch Russell Crowe’s Latest Movie?

It’s been a quiet year thus far for Russell Crowe after he teamed up with Aaron Taylor-Johnson in 2024 for Kraven the Hunter. The film is currently streaming on Netflix, and under the new Sony/Netflix deal, it likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Crowe’s next movie, Nuremberg, which co-stars Rami Malek and Michael Shannon, will be released in theaters everywhere on November 7. The film is already earning Crowe Oscar buzz. He’s also due to star opposite Henry Cavill and Jeremy Irons in Highlander, but after Cavill recently suffered an injury, the start of production has been delayed, and a release date remains unclear.

Check out Gladiator on Starz or Paramount+ in America and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.

Release Date

May 5, 2000

Runtime

155 minutes

Writers

David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson