Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Den of Thieves 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 10, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available as part of the Den of Thieves: 2-Film Collection 4K, which as of the writing of this review is available as an exclusive from Lionsgate Limited.

Lionsgate's boutique e-tailer Lionsgate Limited has been offering releases for several months now, but there has been a rather widely variant approach to those releases in terms of packaging and/or swag as well as whether or not any given film has had a previous 4K release. So far Lionsgate Limited's releases have included everything from The Conversation 4K to a more recent array of Quentin Tarantino films, to last month's The Third Man 4K. This particular release is in its own way sui generis, at least within the confines of this still nascent marketing franchise, in that it offers SteelBook editions of the two Den of Thieves films in both 1080 and 4K UHD presentations (the SteelBooks are themselves enclosed in a vault like case with an L shaped cover that snaps closed). However, kind of interestingly if perhaps a little bafflingly, this release is the only way to see the first film in 4K as of the writing of this review, whereas the second film had a pretty recent (as of the writing of this review) "wide" 4K release in standard packaging. To answer a question frequently raised with a lot of Lionsgate 4K releases (not necessarily just those put out by Lionsgate Limited), the 1080 disc included in the first Den of Thieves SteelBook is a "legacy" disc.

While this is the 4K UHD premiere of the first Den of Thieves film, it had a rather long ago release on 1080 disc from home studio Universal, and Martin Liebman's provides a detailed plot summary, list of supplements and Marty's reaction to that disc's technical presentation.

Den of Thieves 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package. Also note that the 4K UHD disc offers only the longer Unrated Director's Cut of the film. The included 1080 disc features both the Theatrical Version and the Unrated Director's Cut.

Den of Thieves is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate with an HEVC / H.265 encoded transfer in 2.40:1. This was digitally captured with Arri Alexas and finished at 2K (both data points courtesy of the IMDb). Marty was generally quite impressed with the old 1080 release from Universal, and this new 4K version certainly offers all of the positives Marty mentions in that review, including what Marty called "fantastic sharpness and clarity". I'd argue that some of the "textural" details that Marty mentions are noticeably improved in this 4K outing, and in fact fine detail across the board sees at least subtle improvements, arguably ebbing only when lighting conditions are less than fulsome. Dolby Vision / HDR really brings some significant new life to the palette. For instance the opening vignettes have some cool (in both senses of the term) tones in the teal to blue ranges that have a wider range of nuance than the already quite striking 1080 presentation. Another standout moment for HDR to my eyes was the red drenched club scene, which has a rather interesting new crimson-ish tone in this version.

Den of Thieves 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lionsgate is to be commended for offering a really impressive new Dolby Atmos mix for this 4K UHD release of the film. Marty gave absolutely top marks to the old Universal 1080 presentation's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, so I can't actually "up the score", but speaking of "up", the Atmos track has some fantastically rendered spatial effects that are perhaps interestingly not always relegated to expected items like gunshots zinging through the air (though there's plenty of that going on, of course). Listen, for example, in even some relatively tamer moments like Butler showing up outside to the crime scene in the parking lot, and ambient environmental effects are now definitely almost wafted overhead at times. All of the byzantine effects Marty details in his review of the old 1080 disc are completely present and just as immersive in this involving new and definitely improved mix. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Den of Thieves 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Establishing Shot with Christian Gudegast (UHD; 4:46) is exclusive to this disc and while brief has some great production information, including about this disc's Atmos mix.


• Alternate Ending (HD; 4:51)


• Alpha Males (HD; 2:06)


• Into the Den (HD; 2:06)


• Alameda Corridor (HD; 3:13)


• Outtakes (HD; 23:22)


• Theatrical Trailer #1 (HD; 2:32)


• Theatrical Trailer #2 (HD; 2:22)

1080 Disc

• Alternate Ending (HD; 4:51)


• Alpha Males (HD; 2:06)


• Into the Den (HD; 2:06)


• Alameda Corridor (HD; 3:13)


• Outtakes (HD; 23:22)


• Theatrical Version Commentary with Director Christian Gudegast and Producer Tucker Tooley


• Theatrical Trailer #1 (HD; 2:32)


• Theatrical Trailer #2 (HD; 2:22)

The SteelBook is obviously designed to be a companion piece with the SteelBook edition of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. In this case, the color scheme is green rather than blue, and the front panel offers Butler alone in Sheriff garb. The back panel offers the three main supporting players. As with the interior panel of the second film's SteelBook, a graphic representation of a map is offered.

Den of Thieves 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm maybe just a bit less enthused about this outing than Marty was, and even his review mentions a number of issues I had with the film, notably a seemingly way overstuffed second act and a running time that is too long by at least a half hour and arguably a good deal more than that. Still, there's a lot of adrenaline pumping moments here, and this new 4K UHD presentation offers great video and audio. The SteelBook packaging should also entice collectors of that format. Recommended.