Den of Thieves (film)
Den of Thieves | |
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Directed by | Christian Gudegast |
Screenplay by | Christian Gudegast |
Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Terry Stacey |
Edited by |
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Music by | Cliff Martinez |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | STXfilms |
Release date |
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Running time | 140 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $30 million[2] |
Box office | $80.5 million[1] |
Den of Thieves (released in some countries as Criminal Squad) is a 2018 American heist action film[3] written, directed, and produced by Christian Gudegast. It stars Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway. In the film, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department clique look to stop a gang of thieves consisting of ex-MARSOC Marines that is planning to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles.
Den of Thieves was distributed by
Plot
In
Merrimen and his crew prepare to rob the heavily guarded Federal Reserve: with approximately $30 million in old bills removed from circulation each day, they plan to steal the untraceable money before it is shredded. Nick's team tails Donnie, who is hired as a Chinese food delivery driver, allowing him to deliver inside the Federal Reserve. A confrontation with Nick leads Merrimen's crew to suspect Donnie is an informant. Interrogated at gunpoint, he admits he was questioned by Nick; to his surprise, Merrimen orders him to tell Nick when the heist is taking place. Donnie informs Nick but denies knowing the location. Nick sleeps with Merrimen's girlfriend, who – acting on Merrimen's instructions – reveals the crew will be robbing a bank in Pico Rivera.
On the day of the heist, as Nick’s team waits nearby running
Merrimen and his right-hand man Enson infiltrate the Federal Reserve, using the stolen armored truck and stadium money to pose as security guards dropping off cash. Donnie, hidden inside a cart of cash, is wheeled inside a counting room as the thieves disrupt the room's power, making it seem like a common brownout. The employees are briefly sent away, and Donnie triggers an electromagnetic pulse to disable the room's cameras as he sends the bills earmarked for shredding safely down the trash chute. Crawling through an air duct to the restroom, he leaves the building in his delivery uniform as Merrimen and Enson depart.
A garbage truck picks up the trash containing the money and is intercepted by the thieves. Nick's team capture Donnie and beat him into revealing Merrimen's escape route. Stuck in traffic, Merrimen's crew spot Nick’s team approaching and exchange fire; Deputy "Borracho" and thief Bosco are killed. Fleeing on foot with Nick in close pursuit, Enson is killed and Merrimen is severely wounded. Cornered, Merrimen raises his empty gun, forcing Nick to fatally shoot him. Instead of the money, only bags of shredded paper are found in Merrimen's vehicle, and the FBI inform Nick that all currency is accounted for at the Federal Reserve, while Donnie has escaped.
Nick revisits Donnie's bar only to learn he has quit. Noticing the bar is frequented by Federal Reserve employees, and spotting a picture of Donnie and his friends, Nick realizes Donnie is the heist's true mastermind: gathering information from bar patrons, he was able to plan the entire robbery, and recruited his friends to intercept the money and double-cross Merrimen's crew. Having shipped the money offshore to Panama and escaped to London with his accomplices, Donnie is now working at another bar across from a diamond exchange – his next target.
Cast
- Gerard Butler as Detective Nick "Big Nick" O'Brien, a gritty Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officer and a boozer, who is hellbent on bringing down Merrimen's crew. He's married and has two young daughters. Butler was required to gain 25-30 pounds in a short period of time for his role.[4]
- MARSOCMarine veteran, the crew's leader and schemer, one of the robbers who set out to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of Downtown Los Angeles.
- marine, a bartender and one of the robbers who set out to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles. He is the skilled driver of the group.
- MARSOCMarine veteran, one of the robbers who set out to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles. He has a teenage daughter and a wife.
- Meadow Williams as Holly
- Maurice Compte as Detective Benny "Borracho" Magalon, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Unit
- Brian Van Holt as Detective Murph Connors, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Unit
- MARSOC Marine veteran, former Los Angeles Department of Water and Powertechnician, and one of the robbers who works directly with Merrimen and Enson
- Mo McRae as Detective Gus Henderson, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Unit
- Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau as Detective Tony "Tony Z" Zapata, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Unit
- Dawn Olivieri as Debbie O'Brien, Nick O'Brien's wife who leaves him after discovering he had cheated on her
- Eric Braeden as "Ziggy" Zerhusen
- Lewis Tan as Federal Reserve Police Lobby Guard #1
- Cooper Andrews as Mack, one of the robber's crew members and a Western Telecal phone employee who uses his access to provide intelligence support by tapping into the LAPD data feeds. He is seen in London celebrating the heist with the other inside men Donnie was secretly working with.
- Jermaine Rivers as Officer Jackson, a Federal Reserve Police guard who stops Ray Merrimen and Levoux as they enter and exit the Federal Reserve facility.
- Max Holloway as Bas, one of the robbers and Donnie's friend.[5]
- United States Federal Reserveemployee who frequents Donnie Wilson's bar.
- Alix Lapri as Maloa
- Matthew Cornwell as Joseph, a bank manager
- Nick Loeb as Rudd
Production
The film was in development for roughly fourteen years, where director Christian Gudegast and a writing partner had a blind deal with
Filming locations
Production began in January 2017. Director of photography, Terry Stacey, shot the movie using the Arri Alexa XT Plus digital motion picture camera. Although set in Los Angeles, California, Den of Thieves was primarily filmed in and around Atlanta, Georgia. Aerial shots of Los Angeles included the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island and the skyline of Downtown Los Angeles.
Reception
Box office
Den of Thieves grossed $44.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $80.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.[1]
In the United States and Canada, Den of Thieves was released alongside 12 Strong and Forever My Girl as well as the wide expansions of Phantom Thread, I, Tonya and Call Me by Your Name, on January 19, 2018. Den of Thieves was projected to gross $7–10 million from 2,432 theaters in its opening weekend.[7] It ended up performing above projections, debuting to $15.3 million and finishing third at the box office behind holdover Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 12 Strong.[2] It dropped 43% to $8.6 million in its second week[8] and another 47% to $4.6 million in its third.[9]
Critical response
On the
Sequel
In February 2018, it was announced a sequel was in development with Gudegast signed on to return to write and direct. Additionally, Butler and Jackson Jr. were in talks to reprise their roles.
References
- ^ a b c "Den of Thieves (2018)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Penske Business Media. Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "Den of Thieves (2018) - Christian Gudegast". AllMovie.
- ^ "Gerard Butler & Pablo Schreiber Reveal How They Bulked Up for 'Den of Thieves'". ExtraTV.com. January 17, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
- ^ Tabuena, Anton (February 8, 2017). "Holloway lands movie role next to Gerard Butler, 50 Cent". Bloody Elbow. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ Giroux, Jack (January 4, 2018). "'Den of Thieves' Set Visit: Making the Impossible Kind of Possible With Curtis Jackson and Gerard Butler". /Film. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ Faughnder, Ryan (January 17, 2018). "Afghanistan war film '12 Strong' to battle 'Jumanji' reboot for top box-office spot". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- Penske Business Media. Archivedfrom the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- Penske Business Media. Archivedfrom the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Den of Thieves". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- Penske Business Media. Archivedfrom the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- ^ Baraheni, Esfandiar (April 30, 2018). "Director Christian Gudegast Talks Den Of Thieves Sequel & New 50 Cent TV Show". Def Pen. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- Penske Business Media. Archivedfrom the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Den of Thieves at IMDb
- Den of Thieves at Box Office Mojo
- Den of Thieves at the TCM Movie Database