300 (2007)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A Spartan king leads 300 soldiers into a desperate stand against a massive invading Persian army.
The story
The film is a retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae in the Greco-Persian Wars. King Leonidas leads a small but elite force of 300 Spartans to hold a narrow pass against the massive invading army of the Persian God-King Xerxes. As the battle rages, Queen Gorgo attempts to rally support in Sparta for her husband. The narrative is framed by the unreliable voice-over of a Spartan soldier named Dilios, who introduces various historical inaccuracies and fantastical elements into the retelling of the legendary stand.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dilios narrates the story of King Leonidas I from his youth to the Battle of Thermopylae. When a Persian herald demands submission, Leonidas rejects him. He proposes a defense at the 'Hot Gates' to counter the superior Persian numbers. Despite warnings, he gathers 300 Spartans to hold the pass. They are joined by a few thousand Arcadians. During the siege, Leonidas encounters the traitor Ephialtes, who offers a secret path for the Persians. The Spartans successfully repel several waves of Persians, including the elite Immortals. On the third day, Ephialtes reveals the secret path to Xerxes. The Spartans refuse to surrender and fight to the death, eventually falling to an arrow barrage. Following the battle, Dilios recounts the sacrifice to the Spartan Council, inspiring the Greeks to eventually defeat the Persians at the Battle of Plataea.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 117
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Zack Snyder
- Writers
- Zack Snyder · screenplay; Kurt Johnstad · screenplay; Michael B. Gordon · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Gerard Butler · Leonidas; Lena Headey · Queen Gorgo; David Wenham · Dilios; Dominic West · Theron; Rodrigo Santoro · King Xerxes; Michael Fassbender · Stelios
- Genres
- historical fantasy; action
- Themes
- sacrifice; heroism; war
- Tone and mood
- epic; gritty; stylized
- Premise and plot tags
- historical fiction; war; fantasy
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1998 Dark Horse Comics limited series by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley
- Franchise connections
- 300
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its visuals, action sequences, and style but received criticism from historians, who criticized its historical inaccuracies, most notably its depiction of the Persians.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 61% · scale: percentage · review count: 238; Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 42
- Awards and nominations
- Best Action Film · Golden Icon Awards · won; Best Dramatic Film · Golden Icon Awards · won; Movie of the Year · IGN · 2007 · won; Best Comic Book Adaptation · IGN · 2007 · won; King Leonidas as Favorite Character · IGN · 2007 · won
- Production trivia
- The film's opening was the 24th-largest in box office history at the time.; The film was shot mostly with a superimposition chroma key technique to replicate the imagery of the original comics.; The 'This is Sparta!' scene became a popular internet meme.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…