NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� On a quiet weekend in movie theaters, while much of Hollywood鈥檚 attention was on the , Lionsgate鈥檚 鈥淒en of Thieves 2: Pantera鈥� debuted atop the box office with $15.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Mid-January is often a slow moviegoing period, and that was slightly exacerbated by the closures of about 10 theaters in Los Angeles, the country鈥檚 top box-office market.
A sequel to the Gerard Butler 2018 heist thriller, 鈥淒en of Thieves 2鈥� performed similarly to the original. The first installment, released by STX, opened with $15.2 million seven years ago. O鈥橲hea Jackson Jr. co-stars in the sequel, which debuted in 3,008 North American theaters.
Butler's films are becoming something of a regular feature in January. He also starred in which managed $32.1 million after launching on Jan. 13 in 2023.
鈥淒en of Thieves 2,鈥� made for about $40 million, was a bit more costly to make. Audiences liked it well enough, giving it a 鈥淏+鈥� CinemaScore. Reviews (58% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren鈥檛 particularly good. But it counted as Lionsgate鈥檚 first No.1 opening since in November 2023.
Also entering wide release over the weekend was the one of the more audacious spins on the music biopic in recent years. Rather than going the more tradition routes of Elton John (鈥淩ocketman鈥�) or Elvis Presley (鈥淓lvis鈥�), the British popstar is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in Michael Gracey鈥檚 film.
The Paramount Pictures release, produced for $110 million and acquired by Paramount for $25 million, didn鈥檛 catch on much better than Williams鈥� previous forays into the United States. It tanked, with $1.1 million in ticket sales from 1,291 locations. Gracey鈥檚 previous feature, 2017鈥檚 ($459 million worldwide), fared far better in theaters. Reviews, however, have been very good for 鈥淏etter Man.鈥�
It was bested by the Las Vegas drama starring Pamela Anderson. The Roadside Attractions release expanded to 870 theaters and collected $1.5 million.
Also outdoing 鈥淏etter Man鈥� was Coming off , the A24 postwar epic grossed a hefty $1.4 million from just 68 locations. It expands wider in the coming weeks.
The weekend's lion share of business went to holiday holdovers, including 鈥淢ufasa: The Lion King,鈥� 鈥淪onic the Hedgehog 3,鈥� 鈥淣osferatu鈥� and 鈥淢oana 2.鈥�
In its fourth week of release, continued to do well, adding $13.2 million to bring its total to $539.7 million worldwide. Also on its fourth weekend, padded its $384.8 million global total with $11 million. the surprise hit of the Christmas period, collected $6.8 million in ticket sales, bringing the vampire tale to $81.1 million domestically.
The Walt Disney Co.鈥檚 in its seventh week of release, added $6.5 million to bring its global tally to $989.8 million. In the coming days, it will become the third Disney film released in 2024 to notch $1 billion, joining 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥� and 鈥淒eadpool and Wolverine.鈥�
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淒en of Thieves 2: Pantera,鈥� $15.5 million.
2. 鈥淢ufasa: The Lion King,鈥� $13.2 million.
3. 鈥淪onic the Hedgehog 3,鈥� $11 million.
4. 鈥淣osferatu,鈥� $6.8 million.
5. 鈥淢oana 2,鈥� $6.5 million.
6. 鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� $5 million.
7. 鈥淲icked,鈥� $5 million.
8. 鈥淏abygirl,鈥� $3.1 million.
9. 鈥淕ame Changer,鈥� $1.9 million.
10. 鈥淭he Last Showgirl,鈥� $1.5 million.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
