NEW YORK (AP) – On a quiet weekend in movie theatres, while much of Hollywood’s attention was on the wildfires that continue to rage in Los Angeles, Lionsgate’s Den of Thieves 2: Pantera debuted atop the box office with USD15.5 million, according to studio estimates.
Mid-January is often a slow movie-going period, and that was slightly exacerbated by the closures of about 10 theatres in Los Angeles, the country’s top box-office market.
A sequel to the Gerard Butler 2018 heist thriller, Den of Thieves 2 performed similarly to the original. The first instalment, released by STX, opened with USD15.2 million seven years ago. O’Shea Jackson Jr co-stars in the sequel, which debuted in 3,008 North American theatres.
Butler’s films are becoming something of a regular feature in January. He also starred in Plane, which managed USD32.1 million after launching on January 13 in 2023.
Den of Thieves 2, made for about USD40 million, was a bit more costly to make. Audiences liked it well enough, giving it a ‘B+’ CinemaScore. Reviews (58 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren’t particularly good. But it counted as Lionsgate’s first number one opening since The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in November 2023.
Also entering wide release over the weekend was the Robbie Williams movie Better Man, one of the more audacious spins on the music biopic in recent years. Rather than going the more tradition routes of Elton John (Rocketman) or Elvis Presley (Elvis), the British popstar is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in Michael Gracey’s film.
The Paramount Pictures release, produced for USD110 million and acquired by Paramount for USD25 million, didn’t catch on much better than Williams’ previous forays into the United States. It tanked, with USD1.1 million in ticket sales from 1,291 locations. Gracey’s previous feature, 2017’s The Greatest Showman (USD459 million worldwide), fared far better in theatres. Reviews, however, have been very good for Better Man.
It was bested by The Last Showgirl, the Las Vegas drama starring Pamela Anderson.
The Roadside Attractions release expanded to 870 theatres and collected USD1.5 million.
Also outdoing Better Man was Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist.
Coming off winning best drama at the Golden Globes, the A24 post-war epic grossed a hefty USD1.4 million from just 68 locations. It expands wider in the coming weeks.
The weekend’s lion share of business went to holiday holdovers, including Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Nosferatu and Moana 2.
In its fourth week of release, Barry Jenkins Mufasa continued to do well, adding USD13.2 million to bring its total to USD539.7 million worldwide. Also on its fourth weekend, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 padded its USD384.8 million global total with USD11 million. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, the surprise hit of the holiday period, collected USD6.8 million in ticket sales, bringing the vampire tale to USD81.1 million domestically.
The Walt Disney Co’s Moana 2, in its seventh week of release, added USD6.5 million to bring its global tally to USD989.8 million. In the coming days, it will become the third Disney film released in 2024 to notch USD1 billion, joining Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine.
