In what was the first “new” weekend of 2025, Den of Thieves 2 opened seven years after its predecessor with an almost identical amount of money in North America. For that special occasion, The Box Office Podcast welcomed the one and/or only Brandon Streussnig to discuss Vulture’s third annual “Stunt Awards” along with Gerard Butler’s B-level stardom, the nuanced politics of seemingly simplistic grindhouse fare and the key difference between knowing what’s wrong and knowing who or what is to blame.
Yes, there is plenty of box office punditry, including an extended fist-bump for the continued slow-burn success of A24’s The Brutalist. However, there’s also time to discuss the action genre as a whole, the ongoing notion of well-liked art made by less-than-ideal artists, the problem of blaming pop culture over the real-world culture it sometimes endorses or emulates and why Paramount’s support of Better Man qualifies as a moral victory even in the face of entirely expected box office failure.
In terms of the written word…
Scott Mendelson explained why Captain America: Brave New World’s box office performance should be compared to Captain America: Civil War, as opposed to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and speculated that Universal shifting Shrek 5 to Christmas 2026 is an attempt to topple The Force Awakens’ domestic box office milestone.
Jeremy Fuster offered several shattering stories of LA residents in the entertainment industry who were directly impacted by the current wildfires. More on that in a moment. Oh, and this is the deep dive into the end of last year’s WGA strike, which won Jeremy his most recent LA Press Club Award. The judges commented, “This story goes deep inside to show the final days leading to a settlement of the Writers Guild strike,” and who am I to argue otherwise?
Lisa Laman discusses the biggest werewolf movie by default in unadjusted domestic earnings, which is still Mike Nichols’ Wolf. Of note, A) my dad and I loved the Jack Nicholson/Michelle Pfeiffer/James Spader flick when I saw it on opening night at the age of 14, and B) it stood out even then as a shockingly expensive film ($70 million back in 1994) for what was essentially an adult-skewing, unquestionably Hollywood-sized but minimal razzle-dazzle horror drama.
Ryan Scott’s latest Tales from the Box Office details the… dear god, you’re old… 20th anniversary of Elektra …which A) put the kibosh on female superhero movies up until Wonder Woman and B) is a definitive example of how lady-led Marvel/DC movies are often given less to work with while being held to an even greater standard for success.
Brandon Streussnig wrote some of the most quintessential pieces on both the first Den of Thieves and Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, and more recently, he interviewed Den of Thieves 2 star O’Shea Jackson. Oh, and if you want to listen to him discuss both Den of Thieves 2 and The Prosecutor even more, he was the guest on this week’s episode of Liam O'Donnell, Vyce Vyctus, and Mike Scott’s Action for Everyone podcast.
As always, if you like what you hear, like, share, comment, and smash (using a cartoon mallet) that subscribe button with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you want to bother us and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or offer ideas for bonus episodes, ping us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com. Yes, I’m going to start scheduling weekly subscriber chats beginning next week and will eventually start being more aggressive about encouraging and answering listener emails.
Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News
Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap
Lisa Laman - Looper, Cultress, Comic Book and Autostraddle
Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria
Brandon Streussnig - The Janitor Diaries and Clippings.me
Finally, if you have the means and motivation, several worthwhile organizations are attempting to help those impacted by the California fires.
As Jeremy mentions at the end of this episode, the Los Angeles-based Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to ending mass incarceration, is raising funds to support the fire crews of California’s prisons.
Likewise, as Lisa also noted at the end of the episode, please note this spreadsheet listing GoFundMe links for displaced Black families (and impacted businesses) in Altadena, California.
And here are links for…
The Red Cross
The LA food bank
The LAFD Wildfire Emergency Fund
The California Fire Foundation
Direct Relief
Share this post