Lionsgate’s heist thriller “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” stole the box office crown, debuting at No. 1 with $15.5 million from 3,008 North American theaters.
The sequel to 2018’s “Den of Thieves” opened on the higher end of expectations and landed about even with its predecessor’s $15.2 million launch. The first film also opened in January and powered to $80 million globally by the end of its theatrical run. The second installment needs an even better display of staying power because it carries a $40 million production budget. Moviegoers liked the film more than critics; “Den of Thieves 2” earned a “B+” grade on CinemaScore and 58% average on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Gerard Butler stars as Big Nick, a gritty Los Angeles police officer on the hunt in Europe to track down ex-marine-turned-robber Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) who is plotting a massive diamond heist.
“These movies are made for audiences, not critics,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Gerard Butler is an established action star, and this kind of good-guys-versus-bad-guys material plays well around the world. Foreign business should be solid.”
Though Lionsgate usually mitigates risk by selling foreign rights to its theatrical titles, the company hopes “Den of Thieves 2” signals a rebound in big screen fortunes. In 2023, the studio suffered an unprecedented losing streak of seven consecutive flops as moviegoers rejected offerings like the “Borderlands” video game adaptation, “The Crow” reboot, Halle Berry’s thriller “Never Let Go” and others. Lionsgate’s 2025 slate looks stronger with commercial options such as “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina,” “Saw XI” and the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” on the calendar.
Another newcomer, Paramount’s musical biopic “Better Man,” in which a CGI monkey portrays the British singer Robbie Williams, hit all the wrong notes with a paltry $1 million from 1,291 venues, albeit a smaller screen count than the average nationwide release. The film, directed by “The Greatest Showman’s” Michael Gracey, captures the rise of the best-selling local artist through the lens of a chimp because, as Williams puts it, he always felt “less evolved than other people.” Even across the pond, where Williams is more well known than he is in the States, “Better Man” faltered with $1.9 million to start and $4.7 million to date. Those ticket sales aren’t a good sign for commercial prospects, although “Better Man” has been well reviewed.
“Better Man” was produced independently for roughly $110 million and acquired by Paramount for $25 million. Musical biopics have been on the upswing, with films about Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston and Bob Dylan in theaters in just the past three years, but some (“Back to Black” was another misfire) are destined to sing off key at the box office.
“Robbie Williams played by a digitally animated chimpanzee [is] an outlandish choice. For anyone complaining that the industry plays it too safe, this is your movie,” says Gross. “The risk-taking is excellent, but $110 million is not realistic for the genre and for this musical artist. $25 to $30 million would have made more sense.”
“Better Man” opened in 14th place, way behind specialty releases that were playing in far fewer locations. A24’s “The Brutalist,” a historical epic that clocks in at three-hour-30-minutes (including an intermission), for example, earned an impressive $1.38 million from just 68 screens. Last weekend, “The Brutalist” won Golden Globes for best drama, best director for Brady Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody, who portrays fictional architect László Tóth, who immigrates to the United States after the Holocaust to start a new life. The Oscar contender will expand into a limited nationwide footprint next weekend, with a wider expansion (including Imax screens) set for Jan. 24.
Overall, this weekend was predictably quiet for moviegoing, though it may have been softer than anticipated as devastating wildfires continued to ravage though parts of Los Angeles, one of the biggest theatrical markets in the country.
In second place, Disney’s “Mufasa” collected $13.5 million from 3,620 venues in its fourth weekend of release. After a rocky start, the $200 million-budgeted “Lion King” prequel has rebounded nicely with $189 million domestically and $540 million worldwide to date.
Fellow Christmas release, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” took the No. 3 spot with $11 million from 3,582 theaters. The threequel about a blue, anthropomorphic speedster has crossed the $200 million mark domestically with $204 million so far, and $350 million globally.
“Nosferatu,” the long-in-the-works “Dracula” remake from director Robert Eggers, dropped to fourth place, scaring up $6.8 million from 3,082 theaters in its third weekend of release. The Focus Features film, starring Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok, has become an indie breakout with $81.8 million domestically since Christmas Day and $135 million at the global box office.
Disney’s “Moana 2” rounded out the top five with $6.5 million from 3,170 theaters in its seventh weekend, boosting its tally to $434 million in North America and $989.8 million worldwide. The animated sequel, which was developed for streaming before pivoting to cinemas, will imminently cross the $1 billion mark.
More to come…