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November 22 is a date movie fans and theater operators have had circled for some time, as a pair of anticipated films are released — Gladiator II and Wicked. Do we have a new Barbenheimer on our hands? Desus Nice and Scottie Beam talked about both films on the latest episode of their new podcast Bet! and gave their thoughts on the free-to-play DraftKings pool which you can enter here.
So as Scottie points out, will you be making a return to ancient Rome or will you be taking a magical journey back to Oz? Scottie says this is shaping up to be the cinematic battle of the year while Desus points out that some are calling it the next Barbenheimer. This will be a battle of cultural heavyweights, with IP muscle behind them. It’s history vs. fantasy, grit vs. glamor, a prequel vs. a sequel.
“It’s not just past vs. future. It’s legacy vs. origin, and that makes for a fascinating matchup,” Desus says.
Our hosts start by breaking down Gladiator II.
From director Ridley Scott, watch the New Trailer for #GladiatorII starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger – Only in theatres November 22. pic.twitter.com/WyrZpgicMQ
— Gladiator Movie (@GladiatorMovie) September 23, 2024
For those who haven’t seen the OG Gladiator spoilers ahead. Desus gives what he calls his best Bronx synopsis of the new film: Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius got killed in the 2000 film and now his heretofore unseen son Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) is out for revenge. As Desus puts it, classic hood story.
Scottie says that when it comes to battle movies, the original Gladiator is in her top three, for sure. but Desus admits he’s never actually seen it. He didn’t even know that it’s where Jay-Z got the lyric from for What More Can I Say. Scottie explains that (SPOILER ALERT) despite Crowe’s Maximus dying, fans aren’t upset by it because he envisions reuniting with his wife and son in the afterlife. And now in this new film Maximus’ secret son is back for revenge. But where does Denzel fit into all of this? And Desus wants to know why he sounds like a Mount Vernon accent!
Scottie points out that Denzel is basically playing the Don King of ancient Rome and thinks Maximus’ son is his path to power in ancient Rome. But, as Desus points out, basically we’re all down for anything Denzel wants to do — crooked cops, pilots with problems, a man procuring a heart for his son. The man is a living legend and can do anything he wants. In fact, Desus sees Denzel becoming emperor by the end of Gladiator II because, let’s face it, Denzel has great representation!
All of this said, and despite the Denzel of it all, Scottie thinks Wicked will win the box office battle. It’s been on Broadway for 21 years! But what do you think? Visit http://draftkings.com/betpodcast to enter a free-to-play $10K pool focused on Gladiator II vs. Wicked. Questions include, but are not limited to:
- Will Wicked have a higher opening weekend domestic box office than Gladiator Il, from the release on November 22nd to November 24th at midnight?
- Will Wicked outperform Gladiator Il in the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter score by November 24, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET?
- Will the combined domestic first week (Nov 22-28, 2024) totals for Wicked/Gladiator beat the combined Barbenheimer (July 21-27, 2023) domestic first week totals at the box office?
- Will Wicked or Gladiator beat out Avengers: Endgame record of the highest opening weekend gross by Sunday November 24th at midnight ET?
So check out the full episode of Bet! below for Desus and Scottie’s thoughts on Wicked as well as their personal picks for the free-to-play pool on DraftKings!
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Bet! is available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow Desus Nice on X at @desusnice and Scottie Beam on X at @ScottieBeam.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
