On a quiet weekend in film theaters, whereas a lot of Hollywood’s consideration was on the wildfires that proceed to rage in Los Angeles, Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” debuted atop the field workplace with $15.5 million, in accordance with studio estimates Sunday.
Mid-January is usually a sluggish moviegoing interval, and that was barely exacerbated by the closures of about 10 theaters in Los Angeles, the nation’s prime box-office market.
A sequel to the Gerard Butler 2018 heist thriller, “Den of Thieves 2” carried out equally to the unique. The first installment, launched by STX, opened with $15.2 million seven years in the past. O’Shea Jackson Jr. co-stars within the sequel, which debuted in 3,008 North American theaters.
Butler’s movies have gotten one thing of an everyday function in January. He additionally starred in “Plane,” which managed $32.1 million after launching on Jan. 13 in 2023.
“Den of Thieves 2,” made for about $40 million, was a bit extra expensive to make. Audiences preferred it nicely sufficient, giving it a “B+” CinemaScore. Reviews (58% contemporary on Rotten Tomatoes) weren’t significantly good. But it counted as Lionsgate’s first No.1 opening since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” in November 2023.
Also coming into extensive launch over the weekend was the Robbie Williams film “Better Man,” one of many extra audacious spins on the music biopic in recent times. Rather than going the extra custom routes of Elton John (“Rocketman”) or Elvis Presley (“Elvis”), the British popstar is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in Michael Gracey’s movie.
The Paramount Pictures launch, produced for $110 million and bought by Paramount for $25 million, didn’t catch on a lot better than Williams’ earlier forays into the United States. It tanked, with $1.1 million in ticket gross sales from 1,291 places. Gracey’s earlier function, 2017’s “The Greatest Showman” ($459 million worldwide), fared much better in theaters. Reviews, nevertheless, have been superb for “Better Man.”
It was bested by “The Last Showgirl,” the Las Vegas drama starring Pamela Anderson. The Roadside Attractions launch expanded to 870 theaters and picked up $1.5 million.
Also outdoing “Better Man” was Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.” Coming off successful greatest drama on the Golden Globes, the A24 postwar epic grossed a hefty $1.4 million from simply 68 places. It expands wider within the coming weeks.
The weekend’s lion share of enterprise went to vacation holdovers, together with “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” “Nosferatu” and “Moana 2.”
In its fourth week of launch, Barry Jenkins “Mufasa” continued to do nicely, including $13.2 million to convey its complete to $539.7 million worldwide. Also on its fourth weekend, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” padded its $384.8 million world complete with $11 million. Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” the shock hit of the Christmas interval, collected $6.8 million in ticket gross sales, bringing the vampire story to $81.1 million domestically.
The Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2,” in its seventh week of launch, added $6.5 million to convey its world tally to $989.8 million. In the approaching days, it would grow to be the third Disney movie launched in 2024 to notch $1 billion, becoming a member of “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.”
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