By It’s January, time for a Gerard Butler film to be Number One.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” the follow-up to 2018’s grungy “Heat” rip-off “Den of Thieves,” has topped the domestic box-office this weekend and is on track for a potential $15 million three-day debut after taking in $5.8 million in its opening day.
That’s slightly ahead of the $5.6 million opening day the original film pulled in before making $15.2 million in its opening weekend. The new film will also be Lionsgate’s first #1 starter since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” opened back in November 2023.
The sequel carries a tight $40 million production budget and is riding on reviews that, while decidedly soft, are considerably higher than its predecessor. The film has also pulled in a B+ grade on CinemaScore.
Lionsgate is also reportedly hoping on the film to be a steady draw through the month of January. Christian Gudegast returns to write and direct the film which sees Gerard Butler’s Big Nick now abroad in Europe to track down heist mastermind Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.).
The success comes as the Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man” pulled in just $580,000 on its wide release first day. Paramount reportedly acquired the feature for North America distribution for $25 million and despite waves of great reviews, the film hasn’t garnered public or awards traction. Even in international markets, the film has flopped – so far pulling in just $8.7 million from a $110 million budget.
Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” will come in second place with a further $12 million in its fourth weekend of release and a domestic total of $187 million – by the end of next weekend it’s expected to rank among the Top 10 North American releases of 2024.
The same goes for “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” which will garner a further $8.6 million in third place this weekend and surpass $200 million domestically by the end of this weekend.
“Nosferatu” will come in fourth with a further $6.3 million to push its domestic haul to $81 million. “Moana 2” will close out the top five with around $3-4 million and a domestic total at $430 million.
Source: Variety
The post “Den of Thieves 2” Nabs The U.S. Box-Office appeared first on Dark Horizons.
