Pantera dominated the box office

January is a historically slow month at the box office. Outside of awards season movies that expand into wide release, there aren’t usually many big movies to draw significant crowds. Of course, this could open the door for the occasional underdog to win the day. A case in point is Den of Thieves 2: Pantera being the first new hit of 2025 as the sequel topped the charts last weekend. Turns out Gerard Butler’s “Big Nick” and Jackson Jr.’s “Donnie” O’Shea still carry weight.

The sequel, written and directed by Christian Gudegast, earned $15.5 million domestically, nearly matching the opening of the original Den of Thieves ($15.2 million). That’s pretty impressive retention considering 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. So, it’s nice to see that a mid-budget action movie like this can pull in a crowd. Good thing Den of Thieves didn’t become a TV showwhich almost happened.

It’s also a much-needed win for Lionsgate, as the studio has been in quite a bit of trouble at the start of the year. 2024 was Lionsgate’s worst year at the box officewith the likes of The Raven, Never Let Go, Assassin’s Creed, and Borderlands (among others) all bombed in theaters. To say that this win was a welcome one for the studio would be a drastic understatement.

So what happened here? What made Lair of Thieves 2 beat the likes of Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3? We’re going to look at the main reasons why this sequel was a box office winner. Let’s figure it out.

As mentioned, there was an unusually long gap between the first Den of Thieves and Panther. There are various reasons for this, such as the STX crashthe studio that distributed the first film. Let’s not forget the pandemic that turned Hollywood upside down in 2020, from which the industry in many ways has yet to recover. In any case, in this case, the gap between parts may have actually worked in favor of the sequel.

Den of Thieves was a hit at the time, grossing $80.5 million worldwide. More importantly, it has remained successful thanks to regular rotation on streaming and VOD (not to mention Walmart’s DVD discount cart). To this end, “Den of Thieves” recently climbed to the top of the Max charts ahead of the sequel’s theatrical release. The thing is, the original film’s audience has only grown in the years since it hit theaters. That certainly worked in Lionsgate’s favor here, and could benefit the studio even more in the future, assuming it wants to make more heist movies like this.

All due respect, but Lair of Thieves 2 isn’t exactly a critical darling. He currently has an approval rating of 57%. on Rotten Tomatoesand critics were largely mixed on the film. However, the audience loves it, which is far more important. It has an audience rating of 79% and a good B+ CinemaScore rating. For a not-so-short, R-rated heist movie without any A-list movie stars, it’s pretty good. It was also enough to get him the word he wanted among potential ticket buyers.

In the sequel, Big Nick (Butler) hunts in Europe, growing closer to Donnie (Jackson) after the events of the first film. Now Donnie is immersed in the world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia. When an unlikely alliance is formed, they plan a massive heist on the world’s largest diamond exchange. /Director Chris Evangelista rated “Den of Thieves 2” 7 out of 10calling it “a triumph of dude rock cinema”. So far, audiences seem to agree.

As mentioned earlier, January is not usually a big month for theaters. Every once in a while, you will get a straight-up blockbuster like Bad Boys for Life that becomes a hitbut this is more the exception than the rule. In that case, the path to Den of Thieves 2 taking the crown at the domestic box office was pretty clear because, frankly, there was nothing standing in its way.

Mufasa and Sonic 3 have been in theaters for four weeks now and have collected the lion’s share of the money they’re going to make. Likewise, “Wicked” and “Moana 2” have been in theaters for two months. Even Christmas hits like Nosferatu and Babygirl already have three weekends in the books. Not to mention that Lair of Thieves 2 is the only major release aimed squarely at the action crowd, meaning that some audiences were completely prepared for such a film. 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 give Butler some respect for the name. He is by no means Tom Cruise or Will Smith, but in the right project he is a good box office bet. Without a doubt, he certainly helped make the first Day of Thieves a hit. Butler was also a major asset to some of his biggest successes, including 300 and How to Train Your Dragon. In recent years, he has been a mid-budget specialist; even his somewhat modest hit “Greenland” is now getting a sequel.

Simply put, a person in the right movie is a star. Obviously, no one hits 1000 and Buttler is not immune to misfires, like when he starred in Kandahar in 2023. (which was a pretty big box office failure). Beyond that, though, Butler has proven time and time again that he still has the chops to help turn anything into a theatrical hit. In this case, he may have helped birth a new franchise for Lionsgate, a studio looking to make the most of what it has. (See also: Saw, The Hunger Games, Twilight.) He knows how to squeeze every drop out of the property he can get. Butler might just help the studio squeeze a little more out of it.

The biggest takeaway here is that Lair of Thieves 2 is right in Lionsgate’s wheelhouse. As the studio has done many times in the past, it has now turned a mid-budget film into a hit and most likely a sequel to the franchise. “Den of Thieves 3” is already well prepared and if “Den of Thieves 2” succeeds overseas, it will almost certainly be made. This is what Lionsgate does best. On the other hand, when he deviates from these kinds of films, things tend to go badly.

Between John Wick, Knives, and a host of other success stories, Lionsgate has proven that it can be the king of mid-budget movies in today’s Hollywood. The success of this sequel only fuels that fire even more. However, when a studio makes big-budget stuff like Power Rangers, Under the Moon, Robin Hood, or Borderlands, things tend to go badly. It’s a sandbox that Lionsgate has to play in because they’ve shown time and time again that they know how to sell these movies to the public. It was a case of the right studio with the right piece of IP.

Lair of Thieves 2: Panther is now in theaters.