Gerard Butler has enjoyed a strong career in Hollywood, and his most recent release has only made him more prominent. The actor first rose to prominence with the role of Count Dracula in the vampire film Dracula 2000. Later, leading roles in the movies The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and P.S. I Love You (2007) helped establish him as a romantic lead. Yet, he truly earned global recognition by playing King Leonidas in Zack Snyder’s historical action epic 300. This kick-started Butler’s status as an action star and a nearly two-decade career as an icon of the genre.

Butler has appeared in multiple blockbuster productions through the years, including the Has Fallen movie franchise, and disaster movies such as Geostorm. He has appeared in a slew of box office successes, with his highest-grossing movies being the animated How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, as well as 300, Tomorrow Never Dies, Geostorm, and The Ugly Truth. Butler has begun producing many of his movies, and 2025 looks set to be an especially big year for Butler. He has three films scheduled for release, while an action sequel is currently making waves at the box office.

Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera Has Pᴀssed A Significant Box Office Milestone

Audiences Are Taking To The Action Heist Sequel

Written and directed by Christian Gudegast, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the follow-up to the 2018 action crime film, starring Butler (Big Nick) and O’Shea Jackson Jr (Donnie Wilson). The two stars reprised their roles for the follow-up, which Butler also produced. The sequel sees Big Nick follow Donnie to Europe to team up with him for a robbery with even bigger stakes. Released on January 10, 2025, in the United States, the film will be looking to surpᴀss the original movie’s total of $80.5 million, which would be about $100 million after accounting for inflation.

Per reports in ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, the movie has closed in on an important domestic milestone, pᴀssing the $30 million mark at the domestic box office. The movie has taken a total of $31.6 million domestically, and hopes will be high that it can cross the $50 million mark before it runs out of steam. That is enough to keep pace with the original movie’s run, so it is progressing in a relatively strong fashion in a slow month. Still, these figures do not account for inflation, which has risen significantly in the years since 2018.

What This Milestone Means For Den Of Thieves 2

The Theatrical Landscape Is No Longer What It Was

When Den of Thieves first released in 2018, it was in an entirely different market. In the seven years between the movies, Hollywood has changed significantly. The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes delayed the production of countless movies and shows for months, which hurt studios and changed audience expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic also made audiences far more wary of theaters. While a few choice movies have seen success, including Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Barbie (2023), and Inside Out 2 (2024), the box office remains tumultuous. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled to regain momentum after the pandemic.

It has not all been bad news, however. Movies have begun to see immense success on streaming platforms. With that in mind, it is no surprise that Butler’s sequel did not improve on the original’s performance. Viewers may be waiting to see it come to streaming. Additionally, January is a notoriously quiet period for the box office, and many films will struggle to perform well. This month, especially, has been extremely slow, as the weekend box office is being led by Mark Wahlberg’s Flight Risk, a movie that earned just $12 million in its 3-day opener.

Our Verdict On Den Of Thieves 2’s Long-Term Success

The Movie Is Likely To Do Better On Streaming

While Den of Thieves 2: Pantera does not have a high benchmark for success, the movie could at least break even theatrically. While its recent milestone is far behind the $100 million total it needs to achieve a profit, it only applies to domestic income. This franchise does have a strong North American lean, but any ticket sales overseas still improve its chances of reaching that coveted $100 million total. Besides, it will still have the opportunity to attempt to reach success through streaming platforms in the coming months. After surpᴀssing its predecessor on Rotten Tomatoes, it has good chances:

Den of Thieves 2 has a strong cast and is already an established intellectual property, which is essential in this new media landscape. After all, of the top 10 2024 box office releases, not a single one was an original property. As a sequel, Pantera has the opportunity to capture audiences who may not be willing to take risks with movies anymore. That could help achieve more success long-term. I would expect the movie to perform much better when it hits streaming platforms, and the movies could wind up becoming a cult franchise for Butler.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline