Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” was the weekend’s biggest hit at the box office, taking in about $15 million in its first weekend. This crime thriller is Lionsgate’s first big hit in theatres since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” in November.
Gerard Butler plays the brave police officer Big Nick again in this follow-up, showing that mid-budget action films are still popular. Audiences still enjoy this genre, as evidenced by the film’s success matching that of its 2018 predecessor.
While “Pantera” was doing well, wildfires in Los Angeles closed about a dozen theaters in a major movie market. Even so, some theaters, such as the AMC Americana in Glendale and the AMC Topanga 12, were able to return over the weekend.
The film had a diverse audience: 31% were white, 31% were Latino or Hispanic, and 25% were black. It was very popular with people ages 25 to 34, who comprised one-third of the audience. Also, 52% of the people who came were older than 35. The film made 31% of its money from premium big-format screenings.
“Pantera” moves the story to Europe, where Butler’s character is after Donnie, played by O’Shea Jackson Jr., a master thief. The sequel got slightly better reviews than the first one, and audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore. With a $40 million budget for development, Lionsgate reduced its financial risks by selling the movie in other countries before it came out.
Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” kept doing well in second place, making $11.7 million in its fourth weekend. This brings its domestic total to over $187 million, putting it in a position to soon overtake “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” as the year’s top movie.
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At the same time, Paramount’s unusual biopic “Better Man,” in which a CGI chimpanzee plays Robbie Williams, had a hard time with its wide premiere. Despite favourable audience reviews, the film only made $1 million from 1,291 theatres. It had a lacklustre debut in the UK, which shows that it doesn’t have much of a draw even in Williams’ home country.
Bringing up the rear of the top five films, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 made more than $200 million in the United States. Nosferatu from Focus Features is still doing well; it’s getting close to $81 million in North America. Moana 2 is also still a strong rival, having made over $430 million in its seventh week in theatres.
