Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is now out in theatres across the globe, and it has received a far better response from critics, who had previously butchered the first entry with a 41% Rotten score. Pantera currently stands at a “fresh” 67% score (based on 24 reviews) so far. This means the score may go up or down, depending on how people receive the film and how many watch it in theatres. Early projections are not looking particularly impressive, as the sequel is expected to collect only $11–13 million (over 3,000 screens) in its opening weekend in the US and Canada. This means the film will need strong support from collections in foreign regions as well.
However, it seems that both Lionsgate and the leading man, Gerard Butler, are confident about Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Butler has confirmed that Den of Thieves 3 is officially on the table and will arrive much sooner than the latest installment. Pantera has been released nearly seven years after the premiere of the first film.
In his recent interview with ScreenRant, Butler confirmed that Den of Thieves 3 won’t “take that long.” He added, “I will not wait any more, and I won’t do that to other people anymore. I’m sorry.”
Despite the not-so-encouraging box-office projections, Pantera could emerge as an impressive financial success. Its 2018 predecessor opened with poor box-office figures but slowly became a sleeper hit, earning well over $80 million against its $30 million budget. Based on the initial reactions so far, Pantera could follow a similar path and become a box-office success. Then again, we could be wrong.
The one factor working in favour of Den of Thieves 2 is that there are no major theatrical releases until Captain America: Brave New World (February 14) in the US and globally. Let’s see how Pantera performs! Led by Gerard Butler, the movie also stars talents such as O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, and more. Stay tuned for further updates.