Gerard Butler knows exactly what his place is in Hollywood, and he’s more than happy to give the people what they want. The industry’s resident grizzled Scotsman is never going to be the guy that the studios turn to when casting prestige dramas or $200 million blockbusters, but if you need a leading man for a mid-budget action thriller, there are few more reliable names out there.
The 51 year-old’s most recent effort Greenland proved to be a rare theatrical release during the pandemic era that actually managed to turn a profit at the box office when it hit select cinemas in certain territories last summer, and also found a pretty big audience on demand, too, but it’s one of his more forgotten genre films that’s been enjoying a resurgence on Netflix recently.
Den of Thieves has been one of the platform’s 20 most-watched movies for over a week now, even troubling the Top 10 for a few days, and it certainly finds the actor well within his wheelhouse. Butler plays the leader of an elite law enforcement unit tasked with stopping a gang of criminals from pulling off an impossible heist, but plenty of obstacles inevitably arise.
Reviews were decidedly mixed and the pic pulled in just over $80 million from theaters on a $30 million budget, but a sequel was announced to be in development a month after Den of Thieves arrived in January 2018. There’s been very little word on the status of the project since then, but based on the strong viewership numbers it’s been drawing in on Netflix, there’s clearly an audience willing to see more adventures for Gerard Butler‘s world weary Nick O’Brien as he looks to establish a secondary franchise to complement his work on the Fallen series.