Gerard Butler Overtakes a Spider-Man, a Mad Man, and a Goodman at the Global Box Office

Gerard Butler

By Rahul Malhotra

Published Jan 17, 2025

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Image Via Warner Bros

With Den of Thieves 2: Pantera topping the box office this past weekend, the struggling studio Lionsgate saw its first number one debut since late 2023. The studio had a terrible 2024, with all of its releases struggling to pass the $250 million mark worldwide. But Den of Thieves 2 has aided not just Lionsgate; it has also pushed star Gerard Butler up a few spots on the all-time list of the world's highest-grossing lead actors. Butler's career box office haul has now passed the $3.22 billion milestone globally, thanks to Den of Thieves 2's nearly $25 million haul so far.

Directed by Christian Gudegast, Den of Thieves 2 serves as a sequel to 2018's Den of Thieves, which concluded its run with $80 million worldwide. In the years since, the first film has gained a cult following of sorts, which is perhaps why a sequel was green-lit. Den of Thieves 2 earned superior reviews to its predecessor, and appears to have settled at a "fresh" 63% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. By comparison, the first film holds a 41% score. Butler previously headlined the Has Fallen action series, which has grossed a combined total of $500 million globally.

He first gained attention around two decades ago, with a lead role in The Phantom of the Opera, but he truly broke out after playing King Leonidas in director Zack Snyder's 300, which grossed nearly $500 million globally. It remains his highest-grossing live-action film. His biggest hits, however, are the three How to Train Your Dragon movies, which have generated a combined total of $1.6 billion worldwide. Butler is now also set to reprise his character from the trilogy in DreamWorks' upcoming live-action remake. Over the course of his career, Butler has appeared in films across a variety of genres; in addition to establishing himself as an action star, for a while, he also headlined romantic comedies.

Butler Has Overtaken Some of the Most Recognizable Stars of All Time

He's currently at the 152nd spot on the all-time list, having overtaken the likes of Tobey Maguire ($3.2 billion), Jon Hamm ($3.196 billion), Reese Witherspoon ($3.18 billion), and John Goodman ($3.16 billion). He needs to pass Tom Hardy and Willem Dafoe (both around $15 million ahead of him) to enter the top 150 list.

Produced on a reported budget of $40 million, Den of Thieves 2 is playing in theaters now. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.