Large Nick and his boys have heisted a No. 1 opening. Lionsgate‘s crime sequel “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” debuted on high of home charts after cashing roughly $5.8 million on opening day from 3,008 theaters.

That’s pacing a contact forward of the primary “Den of Thieves,” which STX opened in January 2018 to a $5.6 million opening day and $15.2 million three-day whole. It’s additionally going to be Lionsgate’s first opening on high of the field workplace since “The Starvation Video games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” bowed in November 2023.

Whereas “Pantera” isn’t displaying a vital uptick from its predecessor, Lionsgate is banking on the movie being a gentle draw by way of the usually lackadaisical moviegoing month of January. The sequel carries a modest $40 million manufacturing price range and the studio usually mitigates monetary burdens by promoting international rights to titles forward of launch. Critiques are simply so-so (although extra constructive than the primary entry), whereas “Pantera” appears to have largely delivered for early moviegoers, incomes a B+ grade from ticketbuyer pollster Cinema Rating.

Christian Gudegast returns to jot down and direct “Pantera,” which sees Gerard Butler reprising his function as Large Nick, a Pepto Bismol-chugging L.A. cop, now overseas in Europe to trace down heist mastermind Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.).

General, it’s a quiet weekend for exhibitors, largely buoyed by vacation season leftovers. The devastating wildfires that proceed to blast the Los Angeles space have left numerous native theaters shuttered and impacted moviegoing in one of many nation’s greatest markets.

Increasing to 1,291 venues this weekend, the wacky Robbie Williams biopic “Higher Man” isn’t precisely going bananas with a puny $580,000 opening day. Paramount acquired the characteristic for North American distribution for $25 million.

Helmed by “Biggest Showman” director Michael Gracy, “Higher Man” drew sturdy evaluations enjoying fall festivals, with critics largely taken by the premise of getting Williams represented by a CGI chimpanzee as a result of, as he places it within the trailer, he all the time felt “much less developed than different individuals.” However the movie fizzled in its restricted launch in late December and, after hoping to plant a flag in awards season, has pale mightily amongst Oscar prognosticators. Williams is a U.Okay. icon, however has largely remained obscure stateside, and a home advertising and marketing marketing campaign that has emphasised the primate premise over the central pop star didn’t take.

In the meantime, Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” will paw itself again to second place after incomes an estimated $2.8 million on Friday. The photorealistic CGI prequel will add about $12.1 million in its fourth body of launch, pushing its home haul north of $187 million. Although it had a gradual begin, “Mufasa” ought to quickly claw previous the likes of “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($193 million) and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($196 million) to rank among the many high 10 North American releases of 2024.

Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will just do the identical, projecting $8.6 million for a 59% drop in its fourth outing. By the top of the weekend, the blue blur’s newest journey will surpass $200 million domestically — a milestone that solely eight different 2024 releases achieved.

Focus Options’ “Nosferatu” continues to flex its energy as a breakout horror hit for Common’s specialty banner. In fourth place, the Robert Eggers-helmed remake appears so as to add $6.3 million in its third weekend to push its home haul to $81 million.

“Moana 2” ought to spherical out the highest 5 after incomes $1.2 million on Friday, based on rival estimates. Now in its seventh weekend of launch, the animated sequel is winding down its theatrical run after banking a formidable $430 million in North America.