According to FlixPatrol, a specialized website that collects viewership data, one of the trending films this week on Netflix US (as of June 4) is the historical epic “300: Rise of an Empire” (2014). Directed by Noam Murro, the film is a follow-up to “300” (2006).
Written by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstand, the film is based on the then-unpublished comic book limited series Xerxes by Frank Miller. It takes place before, during and after the main events of the first movie.
It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Artemisium and the Battle of Salamis in the Greco-Persian Wars. Per FlixPatrol, the film is currently the second most-watched film in the US, just behind “Godzilla Minus One,” which rules the chart.
‘300: Rise of an Empire’ climbs to the Top 2 in the US
In ‘300: Rise of an Empire’, there are two battles happening at once. While King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans confront their fate at Thermopylae, another crucial battle against the Persians is emerging at sea. Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), a Greek general, recognizes the danger posed by the God-King Xerxes of Persia.
He understands that uniting all of Greece is essential to have any hope of resisting the Persian invasion. Even if Themistocles succeeds in his mission, he must still contend with Artemisia (Eva Green), the formidable leader of the Persian fleet.
Apart from Stapleton and Green, new additions to the cast include Hans Matheson, and Callan Mulvey. Meanwhile, Lena Headey, Peter Mensah, David Wenham, Andrew Tiernan, Andrew Pleavin, and Rodrigo Santoro reprise their roles from the first film.
Like its predecessor, it garnered mixed reviews. Critics praised the action sequences, music, cinematography, visual effects, and Eva Green’s performance, but criticized the story and its overstylized gore. Despite this, the film was a box-office success, earning $337 million worldwide on a $110 million budget.
