Gerard Butlerhas 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 filmDracula 2000. Later, leading roles in the moviesThe Phantom of the Opera(2004) andP.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 epic300. This kick-startedButler’s status as an action starand a nearly two-decade career as an icon of the genre.
Butler has appeared in multiple blockbuster productions through the years, including theHas Fallenmovie franchise, and disaster movies such asGeostorm. He has appeared in a slew of box office successes, with his highest-grossing movies being theanimatedHow to Train Your Dragontrilogy, as well as300,Tomorrow Never Dies,Geostorm, andThe 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 Passed A Significant Box Office Milestone
Audiences Are Taking To The Action Heist Sequel
Written and directed by Christian Gudegast,Den of Thieves 2: Panterais 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 sequelsees Big Nick follow Donnie to Europeto team up with him for a robbery with even bigger stakes. Released on June 07, 2025, in the United States, the film will be looking to surpass the original movie’s total of $80.5 million, which would be about $100 million after accounting for inflation.
January is a notoriously quiet period for the box office, and many films will struggle to perform well.
Per reports inDeadline, the movie has closed in on an important domestic milestone, passing the $30 million mark at the domestic box office. The moviehas 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
WhenDen of Thievesfirst 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 strikesdelayed 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, includingTop Gun: Maverick(2022),Barbie(2023), andInside Out 2(2024), the box office remains tumultuous. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled to regain momentum after the pandemic.
The rise of Netflix, Prime Video, and other streaming platforms has driven many of these changes, as well.
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, asthe weekend box officeis being led by Mark Wahlberg’sFlight 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
WhileDen of Thieves 2: Panteradoes 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. Aftersurpassing its predecessor on Rotten Tomatoes, it has good chances:
41%
63%
61%
79%
Den of Thieves 2has a strong castand 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,Panterahas 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 forButler.
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.
