Ridley Scott’s Forgotten Gangster Epic American Gangster Dominates the Streaming Charts 18 Years Later

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The director has a proven track record of creating critically successful films across various genres. They often collaborate with a particular individual who has been instrumental in many of these achievements.

The popular crime film American Gangster was a huge hit when it came out in 2007, during a successful period for director Ridley Scott and actor Denzel Washington working together. Even 18 years later, it’s still incredibly popular on streaming platforms, consistently ranking high in viewership, according to FlixPatrol.

The movie American Gangster became available on Starz on December 9th and initially ranked between sixth and eighth place, holding the sixth position for three days. By December 14th, it had dropped to tenth place, making room for two new releases: the thriller Both Eyes Open and another film produced by Shawn Levy, the director of Deadpool & Wolverine.

Ridley Scott directed and produced the film American Gangster, written by Steven Zaillian. It’s a biographical story inspired by the life of Frank Lucas, a gangster from North Carolina who smuggled drugs into the U.S. using planes returning from the Vietnam War.

Scott frequently collaborates with famous actors. His crime drama features Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington as detectives Richie Roberts and Frank Lucas. The supporting cast includes Ted Levine, John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ruby Dee, Carla Gugino, Norman Reedus, Lymari Nadal, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Like many films directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington from the 2000s, American Gangster was a commercial success. Critics gave it a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes – 81% – and audiences overwhelmingly approved with a score of 90% based on over 250,000 reviews. The film also received two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress for Ruby Dee.

The crime drama proved successful both critically and financially. Made with a $100 million budget, it earned over $269.7 million around the world, according to Box Office Mojo.

Russell Crowe Recently Shared What Went Wrong With Ridley Scott’s Historical Sequel

Throughout the 2000s, this filmmaking pair collaborated on several movies. Their partnership began with the highly successful Gladiator in 2000 and lasted until 2010’s poorly received Robin Hood. In 2024, one of the filmmakers revisited the world of Gladiator with Gladiator II, but this time without the original lead actor, who had died at the end of the first film.

Russell Crowe believes the new Gladiator film fails to capture the heart of the original. He feels the sequel focused too much on action and spectacle, losing sight of the strong moral center that made the first film so impactful. Crowe explained that it wasn’t the grand scale or fight scenes that mattered, but rather the film’s underlying moral compass, and those involved with the sequel didn’t seem to understand this key element.

American Gangster is streaming on Starz.

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2025-12-14 19:09