Gerard Butler’s New Action Movie Surpasses Major Global Box Office Milestone Despite VOD Release

Gerard Butler has become an increasingly reliable name in the world of action. The genre has long been a part of the actor’s career, dating back to Reign of Fire (2002) and 300 (2006), but it became a greater focus following the success of Olympus Has Fallen in 2013. Butler reprised his role as Mike Banning in two Has Fallen sequels, with a fourth movie, Night Has Fallen, reportedly on the way, but he’s also flexed his action hero muscles in an array of other movies.

For Butler, the 2010s and 2020s saw the release of action and action-adjacent movies like Gods of Egypt (2016), Geostorm (2017), Hunter Killer (2018), Greenland (2020), Plane (2023), and Kandahar (2023), among others. It’s 2018’s Den of Thieves, however, that emerged as a Butler action classic, faring well at the box office upon its release but truly taking off on streaming where it developed a passionate following. Butler played L.A. cop “Big Nick” O’Brien in the heist action flick, a character he recently returned to.

Den of Thieves also stars Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and 50 Cent.

Den Of Thieves 2 Hits Another Box Office Milestone

Gerard Butler’s Sequel Is Faring Well With Audiences

Image via Liongate

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has just crossed a significant new box office milestone despite being available on VOD. Directed by Christian Gudegast, the sequel to 2018’s Den of Thieves features Butler’s Big Nick joining forces with Jackson Jr.’s Donnie to pull off a diamond heist in Europe. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera reviews have been generally positive from critics and the film has been a solid performer at the box office thus far, opening with $15.5 million in North America last month.

Gerard Butler looking shocked as Big Nick in Den of Thieves 2 Pantera

Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera Cast & Character Guide

Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera has Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. set to return to cinema screens in 2025 with a variety of new faces.

Now, according to Box Office Mojo, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has crossed $50 million worldwide at the box office after nearly one month in theaters. This total comprises $34.6 million from North American and $15.5 million internationally. This new milestone comes just over a week after the sequel became available to rent and purchase on VOD. The sequel still has a ways to go before catching up with the original movie’s $80 million total, but this is likely its last major box office milestone given how long it’s been in theaters and its home-viewing availability.

What Den Of Thieves 2’s Box Office Milestone Means For The Movie

Butler’s Action Sequel Hasn’t Broken Even Yet

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was made on an estimated budget of $40 million, meaning it may be looking at a break-even point of at least $80 million. This budget is $10 million higher than that of the original movie, but it’s now looking quite unlikely the sequel will match that movie at the box office. Revenue generated from VOD sales isn’t generally made public, but it’s entirely possible that the Den of Thieves sequel has been a strong performer in this regard, helping to further close the gap to profitability.

Den of Thieves Franchise Rotten Tomatoes Scores
Title	RT Critics’ Score	RT Popcornmeter
Den of Thieves	41%	63%
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera	61%	79%

Despite Pantera having not yet broken even, Den of Thieves 3 is now confirmed to be in development. One possible reason for this is that the sequel has been generally well-received, sporting a critics’ score of 61% and an audience score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. As seen in the chart above, both of these scores are improvements over the original, and it could be a sign that Den of Thieves 2: Pantera will enjoy a successful life on streaming and VOD in the months to come.

Our Take On Den Of Thieves 2’s Performance

Big Nick Is A Top Butler Character

Even though Den of Thieves 2 hasn’t yet reached profitability, the movie still feels like a win for Butler. It’s clear that he really enjoys playing the role of Big Nick. The character is a unique addition to the actor’s impressive roster of action hero-type roles, and he’s arguably more interesting than the Has Fallen movies’ Mike Banning. Angel Has Fallen fleshes Mike out by introducing his father and exploring the pair’s relationship, but the character remains somewhat by-the-numbers for the genre.

This sense of fun is surely contributing to Pantera‘s critical success, and it’s likely that the movie has been a strong performer on VOD.

Big Nick, however, is a larger-than-life figure and a major wildcard, and the role allows Butler to lean into his inherent comedic sensibilities on top of his action hero skills. Purely from an audience member’s perspective, Butler looks to be having fun, and that makes the Den of Thieves movies fun to watch. This sense of fun is surely contributing to Pantera‘s critical success, and it’s likely that the movie has been a strong performer on VOD.

Butler alone makes the prospect of a third film exciting. Big Nick remains entertaining as a character, and Butler and Jackson Jr. have strong chemistry. It remains to be seen how the franchise will continue to evolve after the Den of Thieves 2 ending, but there’s evidently more story to tell. For now, though, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera remains in theaters, and it’s defintely worth seeing on the big screen.

Source: Box Office Mojo