UPDATE: 2025-07-16 08:02 EST BY BRENNAN KLEIN
Den Of Thieves 2 Holds Its Position At No. 1 With $0.5 Million Boost
This article was originally written Saturday AM and has been updated Sunday AM with up-to-date box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.
The heist movie sequelDen of Thieves 2: Panterahas kicked off Lionsgate’s 2025 with a bang, while the Robbie Williams biopicBetter 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, includingWhite Bird,Francis Ford Coppola’sMegalopolis,The Crow,Borderlands, andThe Killer’s Game. While movies like November 2024’sThe Best Christmas Pageant Everdid make their money back, Lionsgate has not had a substantial blockbuster hit in some time.
PerDeadline, as of Saturday morning,Den of Thieves 2: Panterais projected to earn a three-day domestic opening weekend total of$15.5 million. This is even with the original 2018 movie’s $15.2 million debut and allows the sequel to takeNo. 1 in an upset that sees neitherMufasanorSonic the Hedgehog 3topping the chart. Those titles have consistently battled for No. 1 after premiering on December 20. In addition to breaking Lionsgate’s streak of disappointments,Panteramarks their first No. 1 debut sinceThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesopened in November 2023.
Meanwhile, the wide expansion ofBetter Manhas not been received with open arms by North American moviegoers. Its current projections show it earning a three-day total of just $1 million, which see landing entirely outside of the Top 10, falling below the No. 10 title, the Pamela Anderson vehicleThe Last Showgirl, which is expected to earn $1.5 million. See the full domestic box office Top 5 chart for the weekend below:
1
$15.5 million
$15.5 million (weekend 1)
2
$11.7 million
$187.2 million (weekend 4)
3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
$8.67 million
$202.1 million (weekend 4)
4
$6.3 million
$81.3 million (weekend 3)
5
$5.9 million
$434.2 million (weekend 7)
AlthoughDen of Thieves 2has made a splash, as the only major new wide release,it has not changed much of the rest of the chart. The previous weekend’s Top 4 titles have all been pushed down one slot on the chart, beginning withMufasa: The Lion King, now No. 2 with an $11.7 million 3-day haul representing a drop of just 50%. Meanwhile,Sonic the Hedgehog 3has dropped 59%,Nosferatuhas fallen 52%, andMoana 2has seen a 53% fall. None of these week-on-week drops are unusual, considering how far into their respective runs they are.
Meanwhile,Wickedhas dropped out of the Top 5, falling from No. 5 to No. 6 in its eighth weekend with a 3-day total of $4.55 million that sees it dropping 54%. This is the first time since theWickedreleasekicked off the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2024 that the movie has spent a single weekend outside the Top 5. This follows from its first single day outside the Top 5, which was January 6, when it took No. 6 behindMufasa,Sonic,Nosferatu,Moana, and the Bob Dylan biopicA Complete Unknown.
What This Means For Den Of Thieves 2 & Lionsgate
2025 Could Turn Things Around
This solid kickoff to theDen of Thieves 2: Panterareleasecould 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 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 likeBorderlandswith international licensing,their 2025 is already looking to be a vast improvement. Their upcoming roster already includes the Mark Wahlberg thrillerFlight Risk, theJohn WickspinoffBallerina, and the sequelsSaw XIandNow 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 theBetter Manreleaseseems to be a bust in North America,Den of Thieves 2: Panteracould 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 BlumhouseWolf Manreboot during its sophomore weekend, theaters will be relatively quiet until the debut ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldon February 14, allowing it a lot of runway to keep attracting moviegoers throughout early 2025.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
Cast
Sheriff “Big Nick” O’Brien tracks Donnie Wilson to Europe after his daring escape. As Donnie becomes deeply involved with diamond thieves and the Panther mafia, the stakes rise with a plan to rob the world’s largest diamond exchange.
Better Man
Directed by Michael Gracey, Better Man explores the life and career of singer Robbie Williams through his own eyes.
