Pantera" features the world's first electric car chase.  When writer and director Christian Gudegast was thinking about the film's sequel, he knew he needed to raise the stakes, and what better way to do that than with an all-action,

“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” took first place in box office with sales of $6 million on Friday, its theatrical debut, according to The Numbers. The heist flick, a sequel to the 2018 film, is expected to earn $15 million its opening weekend, Deadline reported.

It’s an odd choice to do a sequel to the 2018 heist movie “Den of Thieves” in 2025. The first film made less than $50 million at the domestic box

Writer/director Christian Gudegast’s Den Of Thieves is not a film that particularly appealed to my personal sensibilities, but it did allow me to go into the sequel with an open mind and reasonable hopes.

I wasn’t actively writing about movies when Den of Thieves came out in 2018, so it was one I opted to skip at the time. However, I became aware that a bit of a cult following started to grow around the Gerard Butler heist movie,

With “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” (Lionsgate), Gerard Butler displayed his bona fides as one of the most reliable draws for action releases. Opening at #1 with $15.5 million, it came in a little ahead of projections and led #2 “ Mufasa: The Lion King” (Disney).

Owen Gleiberman of Variety calls Den of Thieves 2: Pantera a satisfying impersonation of a high-end crime film, saying that Gerard Butler is good enough to lift “a piece of pulp so it almost seems like a real movie.” The critic continues:

Gerard Butler loved performing high-risk stunts during the making of the heist sequel 'Den of Thieves 2: Pantera'.

Pantera leaves viewers wondering if thieves can ever be in total alignment when it’s against their true nature. In this franchise sequel, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Gerard Butler band together as unlikely forces and blur the lines between the actions of an anti-hero and a real villain.