January is a historically slow month at the box office. Aside from awards season films being expanded into wider release, there aren't usually too many big movies to attract significant audiences. Of course, that could open the door for the occasional underdog to win the day. For example, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the first new hit since 2025, as the sequel topped the charts this past weekend. Turns out Gerard Butler's great Nick and O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s Donnie still have juice.

The sequel, which was written and directed by Christian Gudegast, opened to $15.5 million domestically, essentially matching the opening of the original Den of Thieves ($15.2 million). That's pretty impressive retention considering the first film hit theaters in 2018, a full seven years ago. It was also a very different time for the industry, before the pandemic. Hence, it's nice to see that a mid-budget action film like this can still pull in a crowd. Good thing Den of Thieves didn't become a TV show insteadwhich he almost did.

This is also a much-needed win for Lionsgate, as the studio has been in pretty rough shape throughout the year. 2024 was Lionsgate's worst year at the box officewith the likes of The Crow, Never Let Go, The Killers Game and Borderlands (among others) all bombing in theaters. To say this win is a welcome one for the studio would be a dramatic understatement.

So what went right here? What allowed Den of Thieves 2 to triumph over the likes of Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3? We'll take a look at the biggest reasons why this sequel was a box office winner. Let's get into it.

As mentioned, there was an unusually long gap between the first House of Thieves and Panther. There are various reasons for this, such as the STX collapsethe studio that distributed the first film. Let's not forget the pandemic that rocked Hollywood in 2020, something the industry is still recovering from in many ways. If anything, the gap between the installments may have actually worked in the sequel's favor, in this case.

"Den of Thieves" was a hit in its time, taking in $80.5 million worldwide. More importantly, it has remained successful thanks to a regular rotation of streaming and VOD (not to mention Walmart's discount DVD bin). For this purpose, "Den of Thieves" recently climbed to the top of the Max charts before the theatrical release of the sequel. The point is, the audience for the original film has only grown in the years since it opened in theaters. That undoubtedly benefited Lionsgate here, and could benefit the studio even more in the future, assuming it wants to do more of these heists.

All due respect, but Den of Thieves 2 isn't exactly a critical darling. He currently has a 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoeswith critics largely pandering to the film. That said, audiences dig it, which is far more important. It has a 79% audience rating to go with a solid B+ CinemaScore. For a not-so-short R-rated heist movie without any over-the-top A-list movie stars, it's pretty good. It was also enough to give him the word of mouth he needed among potential ticket buyers.

The sequel sees Big Nick (Butler) hunting in Europe, closing in on Donnie (Jackson) after the events of the first film. Donnie is now immersed in the world of diamond thieves and the notorious Panther mafia. As an unlikely alliance forms, they plan a massive heist on the world's largest diamond exchange. /Film Chris Evangelista gave Den of Thieves 2 a 7 out of 10 reviewcalling it "a triumph of dude rock cinema". Audiences seem to agree so far.

As noted earlier, January is not usually a big month for theaters. From time to time, you will receive a straight blockbuster like Bad Boys for Life becoming a huge hitbut that is more the exception than the rule. So the path was pretty clear for Den of Thieves 2 to take the crown at the domestic box office because, frankly, there was nothing standing in its way.

Mufasa and Sonic 3 have been in theaters for four weeks now and have made the lion's share of the money they're going to make. Also, Wicked and Moana 2 have been in theaters for two months. Even Christmas hits like "Nosferatu" and "Babygirl" already have three weekends in the books. Not to mention, Den of Thieves 2 is the only major release aimed squarely at the action crowd right now, meaning that certain audience members were completely prepared for a film like this. It was the right movie at the right time, plain and simple.

Even though this movie doesn't have any huge stars in it, we have to respect Butler's name a little bit. He's by no means Tom Cruise or Will Smith, but in the right project, he's a good bet at the box office. He certainly helped make the first Day of Thieves a hit, no question about that. Butler has also been a key asset to some of his biggest hits, including the films 300 and How to Train Your Dragon. In recent years, it has been a mid-budget maven; even his somewhat modest hit "Greenland" is now getting a sequel.

Simply put, the man in the right movie is the star. Nobody bats 1,000, obviously, and Buttler isn't immune to misfiring, like when he starred in 2023's Kandahar (which was a pretty big box office flop). That aside, however, Butler has proven time and time again that he still has juice in the tank and can help turn something into a theatrical hit. In this case, he may have helped birth a new, ongoing franchise for Lionsgate, a studio that tends to make the most of what it has. (See also: "Saw," "The Hunger Games," "Twilight.") He knows how to squeeze every drop of property he can get his hands on. Butler just might help the studio squeeze a little more out of this.

The biggest thing here is that Den of Thieves 2 is right in Lionsgate's wheelhouse. As the studio has done many times in the past, it has now turned a mid-budget film into a hit and, quite possibly, an ongoing franchise. Den of Thieves 3 is already nicely tweaked and, if Den of Thieves 2 does well overseas, it will almost certainly get made. This is what Lionsgate does best. On the other hand, when he strays from this kind of film, things tend to go badly.

Between John Wick, Knives Out, and a host of other success stories, Lionsgate has proven that it can be the king of the mid-budget movie in modern Hollywood. The success of this sequel only fuels that fire further. However, when a studio makes big-budget stuff like Power Rangers, Moonfall, Robin Hood or Borderlands, things tend to go badly. This is the sandbox that Lionsgate has to play in as it has consistently shown that it knows how to sell these movies to the public. This was a case of a real studio with a real piece of IP.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is in theaters now.