“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” took first place in box office with sales of $6 million on Friday, its theatrical debut, according to The Numbers. The heist flick, a sequel to the 2018 film, is expected to earn $15 million its opening weekend, Deadline reported.

Writer/director Christian Gudegast’s Den Of Thieves is not a film that particularly appealed to my personal sensibilities, but it did allow me to go into the sequel with an open mind and reasonable hopes.

In this franchise, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Gerard Butler band together and blur the lines between the actions of an anti-hero and a real villain.

It’s an odd choice to do a sequel to the 2018 heist movie “Den of Thieves” in 2025. The first film made less than $50 million at the domestic box

With “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” (Lionsgate), Gerard Butler displayed his bona fides as one of the most reliable draws for action releases. Opening at #1 with $15.5 million, it came in a little ahead of projections and led #2 “ Mufasa: The Lion King” (Disney).

Owen Gleiberman of Variety calls Den of Thieves 2: Pantera a satisfying impersonation of a high-end crime film, saying that Gerard Butler is good enough to lift “a piece of pulp so it almost seems like a real movie.” The critic continues:

That’s pacing a touch ahead of the first “Den of Thieves,” which STX opened in January 2018 to a $5.6 million opening day and $15.2 million three-day total. It’s also going to be Lionsgate’s first opening on top of the box office since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” bowed in November 2023.

Gerard Butler loved performing high-risk stunts during the making of the heist sequel 'Den of Thieves 2: Pantera'.