Box Office: Den Of Thieves 2 Breaks Lionsgate's Grim 2024 Streak, Robbie Williams' Biopic Movie Tanks

The heist movie sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has kicked off Lionsgate’s 2025 with a bang while the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man (featuring the pop star as a CGI monkey) flounders in its wide expansion. Lionsgate, which is both a production company and distributor, released a string of notable flops into theaters in the second half of 2024, including White Bird, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, The Crow, Borderlands, and The Killer’s Game. While movies like November 2024’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever did make their money back, Lionsgate has not had a substantial blockbuster hit in some time.

Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is projected to earn a 3-day domestic opening weekend total of $15 million. This matches the original 2018 movie’s $15.2 million debut and allows the sequel to take No. 1 in an upset that sees neither Mufasa nor Sonic the Hedgehog 3 topping the chart. Those titles have consistently battled for No. 1 after premiering on December 20. In addition to breaking Lionsgate’s streak of disappointments, Pantera marks their first No. 1 debut since The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opened in November 2023.

Meanwhile, the wide expansion of Better Man has not been received with open arms by North American moviegoers. Its current projections show it earning a 3-day total of just $1 million, which will most likely prevent it from debuting in the domestic Top 5 and may see it struggle to land in the Top 10 at all.

What This Means For Den Of Thieves 2 And Lionsgate

2025 Could Turn Things Around

This solid kickoff to the Den of Thieves 2: Pantera release could result in the movie, which reunites stars Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. with writer-director Christian Gudegast, legging out to an overall worldwide total that matches the original movie. If it maintains its current trajectory, it could potentially earn $80 million worldwide. This would more than double its $40 million budget and, while it may not entirely cause the movie to break even in theaters, would set it on the road to profitability with its video on demand and streaming releases.

Movies typically need to earn back two and a half times their production budgets in order to break even.

While 2024 may not have been as devastating to Lionsgate as the raw box office numbers make it seem, considering the fact that they are only on the hook for distribution costs for some of their movies and that they offset large portions of big-budget movies like Borderlands with international licensing, their 2025 is already looking to be a vast improvement. Their upcoming roster already includes the Mark Wahlberg thriller Flight Risk, the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, and the sequels Saw XI and Now You See Me 3, which could potentially result in a slew of additional No. 1 titles.

Our Take On The Weekend Box Office

Den Of Thieves 2 Has A Bright Future

While the Better Man release seems to be a bust in North America, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera could very well continue to thrive. It is well-placed in January, as it has very little major blockbuster competition. While it will have to weather the arrival of the Blumhouse Wolf Man remake during its sophomore weekend, theaters will be relatively quiet until the debut of Captain America: Brave New World on February 14, allowing it a lot of runway to keep attracting moviegoers throughout early 2025.

Source: Deadline