Den of Thieves 2: Panteradebuted on Netflix with so much anticipation and excitement that it’s easy to forget that the film began its life as a theatrical release. Indeed,Den of Thieves 2: Panteraonly had an 18-day theatrical release window before the sequel was released on VOD. Just as the theatrical and VOD releases ofPanteratriggered a resurgence in popularity for the firstDen of Thievesfilm, the sequel’s expected streaming popularity and strong VOD performance led to theannouncement ofDen of Thieves 3.
Such calculations have defined the recent career ofDen of Thievesseries starGerard Butler,whose decidedly formulaic and uninspired starring action vehicles have been primarily geared toward streaming audiences. Accordingly, while the role of rule-breaking Los Angeles police detective Nick O’Brien inDen of Thieves 2: Panteraand its predecessor have provided Butler with arguablythe most distinctive and interesting characterhe’s played over the past decade, Butler’s streaming stardom has resulted in a career paradox, in which audiences are much more inclined to want to watch his starring vehicles through streaming and VOD than in a theater.
‘Den of Thieves 2’ Embodies Gerard Butler’s Transition from A-List Star to B-Movie Action Hero
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
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After Gerard Butler achieved major stardom with his fiery performance as King Leonidas in the 2006 historical action film300, he displayed impressive versatility in the genres of action, drama, and romantic comedy. However, Butler encountered a career precipice with the commercial and criticalfailure of the 2017 disaster filmGeostorm, which had a damaging effect on his career and led to his jolting transition from borderline A-list Hollywood star to B-movie action hero, beginning in 2018 with the release ofDen of Thieves.
In the approximately seven-year gap between the releases ofDen of ThievesandDen of Thieves 2: Pantera, Butler’s career has been entirely devoted to modestly budgeted action vehicles in which he invariably plays a seemingly ordinary guy-hero who finds redemption by purging screen villains in often brutal ways. This is especially visible in the 2023 action thriller filmPlane, in which he plays a widowed take-no-prisoners commercial airline pilot who, after performing an emergency landing on a remote island in the Philippines, is forced to summon his extraordinary aptitude for violence to save his passengers from an army of terrorists.
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WhileDen of Thieves 2: Panteraputs a slight spin on this formula by having Butler’s character, disgraced Los Angeles police detective Nick O’Brien, seemingly switch sides by traveling to Europe to join a crew of thieves in executingan elaborate diamond heist,Den of Thieves 2: Panteraotherwise proves that while Butler remains an endearing action-hero presence,his screen persona has become too predictable for him to be able to elevate his action vehicles above being merely diverting and watchable.
Butler Has Become a Poor Man’s Jason Statham
One of Gerard Butler’s closest contemporaries is Jason Statham, who made his screen acting debut in Guy Ritchie’s 1998 black comedy crime filmLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, while Butler starred in Ritchie’s 2008 crime comedy filmRocknRolla, which features one of his most memorable performances as a small-time gangster named One-Two. However, while his career eclipsed that of Statham’s throughout the 2000s, and even several years beyond,Statham’s career has clearly surpassedButler’s career over the past decade, both in terms of box-office success and Statham’s ability to apply quality control principles to his career.
‘Den of Thieves’ Stars Gerard Butler & O’Shea Jackson Jr. on Their Bigger, Better Sequel
Gerard Butler & O’Shea Jackson Jr. discuss their action movie franchise and what they learned from one other on the sequel, ‘Den of Thieves: Pantera.’
Indeed,Statham’s advantage over Butler owes primarily to his superior choice of collaborators and material, as while he hasn’t worked with a prominent director since Alex Proyas on the 2016 fantasy action filmGods of Egypt, Statham has, in addition tohis continued relationship with Ritchie, aligned himself with such directors as Paul Feig, James Wan, Simon West, and, most recently, David Ayer on the 2024 action thriller filmThe Beekeeper.
Moreover, the agile Statham simply looks much better than the increasingly weathered Butler, despite the fact that he is approximately two and a half years older than Butler. WhileStatham’s martial arts traininghas enabled him to maintain an aura of realism with his continually impressive fight scenes, the 55-year-old Butler acts and looks every bit his age.
Butler’s Streaming Popularity Killed His Box-Office Drawing Power
During its limited theatrical run,Den of Thieves 2: Panteragrossed $57.1 million at the worldwide box office, Gerald Butler’s second-highest theatrical total over the past five years, behind the $74.5 million worldwide gross ofPlane. Butler’s last starring vehicle to gross over $100 million at the worldwide box office was the third installment intheHas Fallenfilm series, the 2019 action thrillerAngel Has Fallen, which finished its theatrical run with a worldwide gross of over $146 million.
The film saw a generally positive audience and critical reaction, as it presently holds a 63% critical rating and 79% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, far above the numbers forDen of Thieves.However,Butler’slackluster box-office track record over the past decade demonstrates that his core audience has become increasingly consolidated and shows no signs of expanding, except on Netflix, where Butler remains a superstar.Den of Thieves 2: Panterais streaming onNetflix.
