NEW YORK – On a quiet weekend in theaters, with Hollywood’s attention focused on the wildfires still raging in Los Angeles, Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” opened with $15.5 million at the box office on Sunday, according to studio estimates at the top of the box office.

Mid-January is often a time of low moviegoing, and that has been exacerbated somewhat by the closure of about 10 theaters in Los Angeles, the country’s largest movie theater market.

Den of Thieves 2, a sequel to Gerard Butler’s 2018 heist thriller, performed similarly to the original. The first tranche issued by STX started seven years ago with $15.2 million. O’Shea Jackson Jr. stars in the sequel, which premiered in 3,008 North American theaters.

Butler’s films will become a staple in January. He also starred in “Plane,” which grossed $32.1 million after its release on January 13, 2023.

“Den of Thieves 2,” which cost about $40 million, was slightly more expensive to make. Viewers liked it quite a bit, giving it a B+ grade in CinemaScore. The reviews (58% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren’t great. But it was considered Lionsgate’s first No. 1 opening since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” in November 2023.

The weekend also saw the release of the Robbie Williams film “Better Man,” one of the boldest takes on the music biopic in recent years. Instead of going the more traditional route of Elton John (“Rocketman”) or Elvis Presley (“Elvis”), the British pop star is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in Michael Gracey’s film.

The Paramount Pictures release, produced for $110 million and acquired by Paramount for $25 million, was not much better received than Williams’ previous forays into the United States. The event was a resounding success with ticket sales of $1.1 million at 1,291 locations. Gracey’s previous feature, 2017’s The Greatest Showman ($459 million worldwide), performed far better in theaters. However, the reviews for “Better Man” were very good.

It was surpassed by “The Last Showgirl,” the Las Vegas drama starring Pamela Anderson. The release of “Roadside Attractions” expanded to 870 theaters and grossed $1.5 million.

Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” also outperformed “Better Man.” The A24 post-war epic won best drama at the Golden Globes and grossed a whopping $1.4 million from just 68 locations. It will be expanded even further in the coming weeks.

The lion’s share of the weekend was spent on holiday holdovers, including “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” “Nosferatu” and “Moana 2.”

Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa” continued to perform well in its fourth week of release, earning $13.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $539.7 million. Also in its fourth weekend, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” added $11 million to its $384.8 million worldwide total. Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” the surprise hit of the holiday season, grossed $6.8 million in ticket sales, bringing the vampire story to $81.1 million domestically.

Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2” brought in $6.5 million in its seventh week of release, bringing its worldwide tally to $989.8 million. In the coming days, it will become the third Disney film released in 2024 to gross $1 billion, following “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.”

The final domestic figures will be published on Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” $15.5 million.

2. “Mufasa: The Lion King,” $13.2 million.

3. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” $11 million.

4. “Nosferatu,” $6.8 million.

5. “Moana 2,” $6.5 million.

6. “A Complete Unknown,” $5 million.

7. “Wicked,” $5 million.

8. “Babygirl,” $3.1 million.

9. “Game Changer,” $1.9 million.

10. “The Last Showgirl,” $1.5 million.