'Den of Thieves 2' snatches top spot in box office

'Den of Thieves 2' snatches top spot in box office

LOS ANGELES
Den of Thieves 2 snatches top spot in box officeDen of Thieves 2 snatches top spot in box office

Lionsgate's heist film "Den of Thieves 2: Pantera" opened atop the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $15.5 million in ticket sales, industry watchers said on Jan. 12.

Gerald Butler plays Los Angeles sheriff "Big Nick" as he travels to Europe in pursuit of a dangerous gang of thieves. The story was inspired by the $100 million Antwerp heist of 2003, the largest diamond robbery ever.

Disney animation "Mufasa: The Lion King" slipped a spot from last weekend, to $13.2 million. Its accumulated ticket sales have passed the half-billion-dollar mark, with $188.7 million domestically and $350 million internationally.

Paramount's action comedy "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" also dropped a spot, to third. The videogame-based film had estimated ticket sales of $11 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

Also down one spot from last weekend was Focus Features' Dracula-inspired vampire pic "Nosferatu," at $6.8 million.

And slipping from fourth to fifth was Disney blockbuster "Moana 2," at $6.5 million. Its ticket sales in seven weeks out are nearing the billion-dollar mark, at $434.9 million domestically and $554 million internationally.

Gross meantime noted that the 2024 domestic box office, while ending with a strong six-week stretch, finished about three percent below 2023 -- and roughly 24 percent below the average of the three pre-pandemic years.

Rounding out the top 10 were "Wicked" ($5 million), "A Complete Unknown" ($5 million), "Babygirl" ($3.1 million), "The Last Showgirl" ($1.5 million) and "Gladiator II" ($1.2 million).