Box office predictions: ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’ looks to steal ‘Mufasa’s’ crown with modest $12 million+ debut

What will be the winners and the losers this week at the U.S. box office? Paramount Pictures’ Better Man and Lionsgate’s Den of Thieves 2: Pantera both open in theaters on Friday. They’ll be facing off against the current top five money-makers: Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Nosferatu, Moana 2, and Wicked.

Gold Derby readers predict that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will win the Jan. 10 – Jan. 12 weekend with less than $25 million domestically. Mufasa: The Lion King is the runner-up choice of our odds-makers. Do you agree or disagree with those rankings? Make your predictions right now — it’s fun and easy! Join the box office discussion in our forums.

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NEW RELEASES

Better Man
Director: Michael Gracey
Based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams. The film is uniquely told from Robbie’s perspective (as a CGI monkey!), following the entertainer’s journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist — all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring. The inventive music biopic has a running time of two hours, 14 minutes, and is rated R. Reviews compiled by Metacritic show a “generally favorable” response with an overall score of 77 percent.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera 
Director: Christian Gudegast
Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist thriller Den of Thieves. In this installment, Big Nick (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange. The thriller has a running time of two hours, 24 minutes, and is rated R. Reviews compiled by Metacritic are mixed with an overall score of 59 percent. 

BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS

We’re going to disagree with our combined readers’ predictions this week and give the edge to Mufasa, which squeaked out its first box office win last week to overtake Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Gold Derby‘s sister site Variety is projecting the Disney film will take in between $12 million to $15 million this weekend, adding to its domestic total of $170 million.

However, don’t count out Den of Thives 2 just yet. Moviegoers turned out for its predecessor, Den of Thieves, to the tune of $15.2 million in 2018. If the sequel can match that (or come close) it should be able to steal the top spot. Despite positive reviews for Better Man, the fact that Robbie Williams isn’t as famous stateside as he is across the pond (and a smaller distribution to just 1,200 theaters) will likely keep it out of the top five. The biopic is expected to earn just $2 million.

Here are Gold Derby’s current box office rankings for the top five:

1. Mufasa: The Lion King

2. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

3. Sonic the Hedgehog 3

4. Moana 2

5. Wicked

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