In a natural and easy-to-understand manner,
“The action-packed heist movie ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,’ produced by Lionsgate, claimed the top spot at the box office in its debut. It raked in $15.5 million from a total of 3,008 North American theaters.
The 2021 follow-up to the 2018 film “Den of Thieves” performed well, meeting high expectations and roughly equaling its predecessor’s $15.2 million debut. The original movie, released in January, eventually grossed a total of $80 million worldwide. Given its $40 million production budget, the second part needs to show strong longevity. Audiences seemed to enjoy the film more than critics; “Den of Thieves 2” received a “B+” on CinemaScore and 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. Gerard Butler plays Big Nick, a tough L.A. cop who is now pursuing Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), an ex-marine-turned-thief, across Europe as he plans a grand diamond heist.
According to David A. Gross, who heads Franchise Entertainment Research, these films are primarily designed for viewers rather than critics. Given that Gerard Butler is a renowned action star, and stories involving good versus evil tend to resonate globally, the overseas market performance is expected to be robust.
Despite typically minimizing potential losses by selling foreign rights for its theatrical releases, Lionsgate is optimistic that “Den of Thieves 2” indicates a resurgence in box office success. In 2023, the studio endured an uncommon string of seven straight failures as audiences shunned productions like the “Borderlands” film adaptation, the “The Crow” remake, and Halle Berry’s movie “Never Let Go.” However, Lionsgate’s 2025 lineup appears more robust with commercially appealing projects such as the “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina,” “Saw XI,” and the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” scheduled.
In a surprising flop, the Paramount-produced musical biopic “Better Man,” featuring a computer-generated monkey playing the role of British singer Robbie Williams, garnered poor reception with just $1 million from 1,291 theaters, despite having fewer screens than usual for a nationwide release. Directed by Michael Gracey, who also helmed “The Greatest Showman,” this film chronicles the rise of one of the UK’s top-selling artists through the eyes of a monkey, as Williams himself explains that he has always felt “less evolved” compared to others. Even in the UK, where Williams is more recognized than in the U.S., “Better Man” failed to impress, earning only $1.9 million on its opening weekend and $4.7 million overall. Despite positive reviews, these ticket sales do not bode well for commercial success.
The film titled ‘Better Man’ was independently made with an approximate budget of $110 million and later purchased by Paramount for $25 million. In the past three years, there has been a growing trend in musical biopics, including those about Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, and another one about Bob Dylan. However, some of these films have failed to resonate with audiences, like ‘Back to Black’.
Robbie Williams being portrayed as a digitally animated chimpanzee might seem unconventional, but it’s just the kind of bold move that some critics say the industry needs. While the audacity is admirable, spending $110 million on this project for this musical artist isn’t feasible according to Gross. A budget of $25-$30 million would have been more suitable and reasonable.
The movie ‘Better Man’ debuted in 14th position, lagging significantly behind smaller-release films that were screened at fewer theaters. For instance, A24’s lengthy historical epic, ‘The Brutalist,’ which runs for an extended 3 hours and 30 minutes (with a break), generated a remarkable $1.38 million from only 68 screens. Last weekend, ‘The Brutalist’ clinched Golden Globes for Best Drama, Best Director (Brady Corbet), and Best Actor (Adrien Brody), playing the role of fictional architect László Tóth, a Holocaust survivor who migrates to America to begin anew. The Academy Award hopeful will extend its limited release across the nation next weekend, with plans for further expansion, including Imax screens, on January 24.
The weekend turned out to be remarkably calm for cinema-going, which might have been more subdued than expected due to the ongoing destructive wildfires affecting areas within Los Angeles, a key market in the U.S. movie industry.
Following its initial hiccups, I found myself in the second spot during my fourth weekend on the big screen, raking in a solid $13.5 million across 3,620 venues. The prequel to “The Lion King,” which had a hefty budget of $200 million, has bounced back impressively, earning $189 million domestically and a staggering $540 million globally so far.
In its debut for Christmas, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” from Paramount claimed the third position with a box office take of $11 million from 3,582 cinemas. The third installment featuring a blue, speedy anthropomorphic character has now surpassed the $200 million milestone domestically, earning $204 million to date, and amassing a global total of $350 million.
More to come…
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2025-01-12 19:16