Pantera dominated the box office

January is a historically slow month at the box office. Aside from awards season movies that expand into wider releases, there aren’t usually too many big films that don’t attract large crowds. Naturally, that could open the door for the underdogs to win the day. Case in point, “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” is the first new hit of 2025, with the sequel topping the charts last weekend. It turned out to be Gerard Butler’s Big Nick and O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Donnie. They still retain juice.

The sequel, written and directed by Christian Gudegast, grossed $15.5 million domestically, essentially matching the opening of the original “Den of Thieves” ($15.2 million). That’s an impressive audience retention rate, considering that the first film hit theaters in 2018, a full seven years ago. It was also a very different time for the industry, before the pandemic. Hence, it is nice to see that a mid-budget action film like this one can still attract audiences. It’s a good thing “Den of Thieves” didn’t turn into a TV show insteadWhich is almost what happened.

This is also a much-needed win for Lionsgate, as the studio was in pretty rough shape heading into the year. 2024 was Lionsgate’s worst year ever at the box officewith the likes of “The Crow,” “Never Let Go,” “The Killers Game,” and “Borderlands” (among others) all bombing in theaters. To say this win was welcome at the studio would be a massive understatement.

So, what happened here? What allowed “Den of Thieves 2” to triumph over the likes of “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”? We will learn the main reasons behind the success of this second part at the box office. Let’s get into it.

As previously mentioned, there was an unusually long gap between the first Den of Thieves and Pantera. There are different reasons for this, Like the collapse of STXThe studio that distributed the first film. Let’s not forget the pandemic that upended Hollywood in 2020, and one that the industry is still recovering from in many ways. However, the gap between installments may have actually worked in the sequel’s favor, in this case.

“Den of Thieves” was a huge hit in its day, grossing $80.5 million worldwide. More importantly, it has remained successful thanks to regular rotation on streaming and video on demand (not to mention Walmart’s discounted DVD basket). To this end, “Den of Thieves” recently rose to the top of the charts on Max ahead of the sequel’s theatrical release. The point is that the audience for the original film has only grown in the years since it opened in theaters. This has undoubtedly benefited Lionsgate here, and may benefit the studio even more in the future, assuming it wants to make more of these heist films.

With all due respect, “Den of Thieves 2” is not a hit with critics. He currently holds an approval rating of 57% On rotten tomatoeswith critics largely mixed regarding the film. However, the audience digs it, which is much more important. It received an audience rating of 79% for a strong B+ CinemaScore. For a not-so-short R-rated heist movie without any A-list movie stars, this is pretty good. It was also enough to give this one the word of mouth it needed among potential ticket buyers.

The sequel sees Big Nick (Butler) stalking Europe, growing closer to Donnie (Jackson) after the events of the first film. Donnie is now immersed in the world of diamond thieves and the notorious tiger mafia. When an unlikely alliance forms, they plan a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange. /The film’s Chris Evangelista gave “Den of Thieves 2” a rating of 7 out of 10.He described it as “a triumph of rock cinema for men”. So far, fans seem to agree.

As we mentioned earlier, January is not typically a big month for theaters. Every now and then, you will get A blockbuster movie just like the hit “Bad Boys for Life.”But this is the exception, not the rule. In this case, it was a pretty clear path for “Den of Thieves 2” to take home the domestic box office title because, frankly, there was nothing standing in its way.

“Mufasa” and “Sonic 3” have already been in theaters for four weeks and have already earned the lion’s share of the money they’ll make. Likewise, “Wicked” and “Moana 2” remained in theaters for two months. Even Christmas songs like “Nosferatu” and “Babygirl” already have three weekends in the books. Not to mention, “Den of Thieves 2” is the only major release aimed directly at the action audience at the moment, which means some audience members were completely prepared for a movie like this. It was the right movie at the right time, plain and simple.

Even though this movie doesn’t have any big stars, we have to put a little respect into the Butler name. It’s not Tom Cruise or Will Smith by any means, but in the right project, it’s a good bet at the box office. It certainly helped make the first “Den of Thieves” movie a huge success, there’s no doubt about that. Butler was also a key source for some of his biggest hits, including the “300” and “How to Train Your Dragon” films. In recent years, he has been a mid-budget expert; Even his somewhat mediocre song “Greenland” is now getting a sequel.

Simply put, the man in the right movie is a star. Obviously, no one hits 1,000, and Butler isn’t immune to mistakes, as happened when he starred in the 2023 film “Kandahar.” (Which was a very big flop at the box office). Regardless, Butler has proven time and time again that he still has the juice and can help turn something into a theatrical success. In this case, he may have helped create a new, ongoing franchise for Lionsgate, a studio that tends to make the most of what it has. (See also: “Saw,” “The Hunger Games,” “Twilight.”) He knows how to squeeze every drop of property he can get. Butler could simply help the studio get a little bit of that advantage.

The most important thing here is that “Den of Thieves 2” is right in Lionsgate’s wheelhouse. As the studio has done many times in the past, it has now successfully turned a mid-budget film into a hit and, most likely, an ongoing series. “Den of Thieves 3” is already well set up If “Den of Thieves 2” is successful overseas, it will almost certainly be produced. This is what Lionsgate does best. On the other hand, when he strays from this type of film, things tend to go wrong.

Between “John Wick” and “Knives Out” and a number of other success stories, Lionsgate has proven that it can be the king of mid-budget films in modern Hollywood. The success of this sequel further fuels that fire. However, when a studio makes big-budget films like “Power Rangers,” “Moonfall,” “Robin Hood,” or “Borderlands,” things tend to go wrong. This is the sandbox that Lionsgate should be playing in because it has proven time and time again that it knows how to sell these movies to audiences. This was a case of the right studio having the right piece of intellectual property.

“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” is now in theaters.