Gladiator II debuted to an estimated $87 million at the international box office, making it the biggest foreign opening for any Ridley Scott film.

The director’s long-awaited sequel to his 2000 is now in theaters Gladiator picks up after the events of the original, starring Russell Crowe as Roman soldier Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as his traitor Commodus.

Starring Paul Mescal as an adult Lucius, the son of Crowe’s murdered Maximus, the new film follows his journey to reclaim Rome and restore it to its former glory. It also features Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, with the latter touted as a major awards contender.

Not alone Gladiator II‘s astonishing worldwide opening of $87 million surpasses all other opening weekends for Scott, whose highest-grossing film The Martian (2015) debuted internationally to $54.3 million, but it also sets the highest international opening weekend for an R-rated film, according to Paramount Pictures, according to Variety.

Meanwhile, Scott’s first Gladiator grossed $34.8 million in its opening weekend, before grossing a worldwide total of $430 million throughout its theatrical run.

Gladiator IITotal production costs were just under $250 million, insiders previously said The Hollywood Reporter. So it remains to be seen whether the film will break even, let alone turn a profit.

So far, it has received mediocre reviews and currently sits at a lukewarm 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The independent‘s Clarisse Loughrey called it “thrilling” in her four-star review, but noted that Mescal is no Crowe.

However, the crowd really seems to enjoy it, with one person tweeting: “Maximus can rest easy, I did enjoy myself.”

“Absolutely amazing movie,” agreed a second, while a third praised the film as “a great sequel to a MASTERPIECE movie.”

“It was a great sequel and should be seen on the big screen!” another stated.

On the other hand, The independent‘s Patrick Smith called it “a horrible mess” and wondered what Scott was thinking. “I couldn’t help but be disappointed. Terribly annoyed even,” he wrote. “Scene by scene, Gladiator II just feels… undercooked. There is no panache, no bombast, no indelible lines.”

In an interview with CheerfulnessAhead of release, Washington revealed that his character, ruthless businessman Macrinus, was initially filmed having a same-sex kiss.

“I actually kissed a guy in the movie, but they took him out, they cut him off, I think they got chicken,” the 69-year-old actor said. “I kissed a man full on the lips and I don’t think they were ready for that yet. I killed him about five minutes later. Are Gladiator. It is the kiss of death.”

Gladiator II now playing in theaters.