Gerard Butler’s “Full-Throttle” Action Thriller That Tops Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ Blasts Onto New Streaming Home
When you sit down to watch a Gerard Butler movie these days, you pretty much know what to expect. Lots of body bags, some quick one-liners, and tons of over-the-top action. From recent flicks like Plane and Greenland, to classics like 300 and RocknRolla, the Scottish actor can usually be counted on to deliver something for every action fan out there. Case in point: his 2018 thriller that launched a new franchise that’s about to blast its way onto a new streaming home.
Hitting theaters on Jan. 19, 2018, Den of Thieves starred Butler as Detective Nick “Big Nick” O’Brien; a hard man who lives an even harder life, and is tasked with stopping an elite unit of ex-military bank robbers from taking down the Federal Reserve Bank (with a twist, of course). Written and directed by Christian Gudegast, Den of Thieves was produced for a measly $30 million dollars, and ended up earning a little over $80 million by the time its theatrical run was over. While the film is currently streaming for free on Tubi, it will also be making its way to Peacock starting Jan. 1, 2026, which should introduce it to a whole new audience.
Also starring Pablo Schreiber, Curtis Jackson, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway, Den of Thieves is a throwback of sorts to those classic 90s heist movies action fans adore. Unfortunately, critics didn’t have much good to say about the movie, and gave it only a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were more forgiving, awarding the movie a 63% score. Many said it scratched that itch for adrenaline-fueled action, and one person even went so far as to say that Den of Thieves is better than Michael Mann’s epic crime drama, Heat:
“What the actual… Den of Thieves is a great movie. Reminds me of Heat, but better. The sequel was garbage. I guess I’m just always going against the critics on this site now.”
‘Den of Thieves 3’ Is Officially on the Way
Gerard Butler in Den of ThievesSTXfilms
Speaking of sequels… following the success of Den of Thieves, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera arrived seven years after the release of the first film, and was met with an even greater response from fans. Though it didn’t earn nearly as much money at the box office, it did well enough on digital and streaming to warrant a third chapter in the action franchise, which should start filming at some point in 2026.
Once again written and directed by Gudegast, Lionsgate has already greenlit Den of Thieves 3, which will feature Butler reprising his role of Nick O’Brien. As for Jackson Jr., he’s also expected to appear in the third installment, because, as he put it so eloquently to Variety: “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it: I’m trying to Vin Diesel this thing. To quote Ryan Reynolds, ‘I want to work with Gerard until he’s 90.'”
As we await more news on what the future holds for what’s quickly becoming one of our favorite action franchises, look for Den of Thieves to arrive on its new streaming home of Peacock starting Jan. 1, 2026.
Release Date
January 19, 2018
Runtime
140 minutes
Director
Christian Gudegast
Producers
Gerard Butler, Mark Canton, Tony Grazia, Tucker Tooley, Alan Siegel
