Lionsgate’s DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA led all films by earning $15.5M in its opening weekend, helping the overall box office to reach $76.4M. This compares to $97.1M for all films last year on the same weekend, with MEAN GIRLS selling $28.6M and THE BEEKEEPER taking in $16.6M, each in their opening weekends. Note that last year, this weekend was Martin Luther King weekend, and this year that holiday will arrive next weekend.
This weekend’s totals relied heavily on holdover pictures from 2024. The impact of raging wildfires in Los Angeles and winter weather in parts of the U.S. and Canada may also have played a role. Next weekend will see the openings of Universal’s WOLF MAN and Sony’s ONE OF THEM DAYS, which contribute to an increase in ticket sales.
DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA is the sequel to the 2018 action movie DEN OF THIEVES, which grossed $44.7M domestic and $80.5M worldwide. Both the original and the sequel were written and directed by Christian Gudegast and star Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. Butler plays Nicholas “Big Nick” O’Brien, a Los Angeles County sheriff, while O’Shea plays master thief Donnie Wilson. Whereas they are antagonists in the original, their situation has evolved in the sequel to turn them into reluctant allies.
The DEN OF THIEVES 2 storyline picks up right after the events of the original, with Donnie Wilson leaving Los Angeles to set up shop in Europe. This plot was inspired by a real-life diamond heist that took place in Antwerp in 2003. Reviewers are somewhat mixed in their opinions, giving the movie a critics’ score of 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas audiences like it better with a 79% rating.
Most commenters say that Gerard Butler does a good job portraying “Big Nick” with intensity and that he is well-suited to the role. Others complain that the running time of 2 hours and 24 minutes is too long for an actioner. This was also a criticism of the original, which was 12 minutes shorter.
The film features a groundbreaking electric car chase on a serpentine mountain road, featuring a Porsche Taycan. Porsche contributed five vehicles to film these scenes, a fact which has set Porsche fan discussion groups abuzz.
The principal on-location filming took place in the United Kingdom and the Canary Islands, which drove the sequel’s production budget to $40M, which was $10M higher than the original’s. Based on its opening, this movie still has a long way to go before reaching the $100M worldwide box office required to break even.
A factor working in its favor is that 45% of the box office of the original 2018 movie came from International markets and the European setting of this film may boost interest in those markets. Here is a comparison of the two DEN OF THIEVES movies.
DEN OF THIEVES vs. DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA
- DEN OF THIEVES (1/19/2018) – Domestic Locations 2,432, Domestic Opening $15.2M, Domestic Total $44.9M, Worldwide Total $80.5M, Budget $30M, RT Critics/Audience 41%/63%
- DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA (1/10/2025) – Domestic Locations 3,008, Domestic Opening $15.5M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 58%/79%
Disney’s MUFASA: THE LION KING finished in second place with $13.3M, a drop of 44%. After last weekend’s #1 finish, MUFASA dropped back into second place, a position it has held three times in the four weekends it has played in theatres. After 24 days, MUFASA’s totals stand at $188.8M domestic and $539.7M worldwide.
It continues to gain ground on SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, its obvious rival this year since both films opened together on the same day on December 20th. MUFASA could overtake SONIC 3 in the end, since its appeal to families with young children appears to be holding up well.
MUFASA: THE LION KING vs SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 after 24 Days
- MUFASA: THE LION KING (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $35.4M (4,100 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $113.5M, Domestic 17-Day $168.6M, Domestic 24-Day $188.7M, RT Critics/Audience 56%/89%
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $60.1M (3,761 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $137.6M, Domestic 17-Day $187.5M, Domestic 24-Day $204.5M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/96%
Paramount’s SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 finished in third place this weekend with $11.0M, a drop of 49%. This brings its 24-day totals to $204.5M domestic and $384.8M worldwide.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Franchise History
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2/14/2020) – Domestic Opening $58.0M (4,167 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $106.5M, Domestic 17-Day $128.6M, Domestic 24-Day $140.5M, Domestic Total $149.0M, Worldwide Total $319.7M, Budget $85M, RT Critics/Audience 64%/93%
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (4/8/2022) – Domestic Opening $72.1M (4,234 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $119.9M, Domestic 17-Day $146.3M, Domestic 24-Day $161.1M, Domestic Total $190.9M, Worldwide Total $405.4M, Budget $110M, RT Critics/Audience 69%/96%
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $60.M (3,761 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $137.6M, Domestic 17-Day $187.5M, Domestic 24-Day $204.5M, Budget $122M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/96%
The domestic box office for SONIC 3 has passed the first two films but has not yet reached SONIC 2’s worldwide total of $405.4M. It may get there if it can keep its week-to-week drops at lower than 50% from here on out.
Focus Features’ NOSFERATU finished in fourth place with $8.8M, a drop of 48%. In 19 days since it opened on Christmas Day, Robert Eggers’ gothic horror remake has earned $81.8M domestic and $135.0M worldwide. While most expected this film to do well, few had predicted this kind of result.
Before this, THE NORTHMAN was the director’s highest-grossing film with $34.2M in 2022. NOSFERATU has more than doubled that total and is still playing in 3,082 theatres. It could wind up with a $100M domestic gross, a feat that only two horror films achieved last year, with much higher budgets. A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE earned $138.9M domestically and ALIEN: ROMULUS earned $105.1M and those films benefitted from being sequels in well-known and successful horror franchises.
Finishing in fifth place is Disney’s MOANA 2, which earned $6.5M and dropped 48%. This brings its total after 47 days to $434.9M domestic and $989.9M worldwide. The film now ranks as the 8th highest-grossing animated film in the domestic market of all time, passing TOY STORY 4 from 2019 which earned $434.0M.
Still playing in 3,170 theatres, the film could reach $475.0M which would move it up to 7th place, passing FROZEN II from 2019 which earned $477.4M domestically. It is quite an accomplishment considering the stiff competition it has faced along the way for the family audience.
Where Are We as of 1/9/2025
After the first week of 2025, the domestic box office came in at 123% compared with the first week of 2024 and 73% compared to the first week of 2019.