Honest Thief (2020)

Honest Thief is a 2020 American action thriller film[6] directed by Mark Williams, from a screenplay by Williams and Steve Allrich. The film stars Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jai Courtney, Jeffrey Donovan, Anthony Ramos and Robert Patrick, and follows a brooding former bank robber (Liam Neeson) who decides to turn himself in to the FBI, only to be set up by corrupt agents. Honest Thief was theatrically released, including in IMAX, in the United States on October 16, 2020, by Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Neeson’s performance, but noted the film’s familiarity.

Plot

Tom Dolan, a former US Marine and demolitions expert, has become a successful bank robber nicknamed the “In-and-Out Bandit”. One day, while storing his money in a storage unit, he meets Annie Wilkins, a psychology graduate student working at the facility. A year later, Tom is in a relationship with Annie and decides to turn himself and the money in to the FBI in exchange for a short sentence to put his criminal past behind him. FBI Agent Sam Baker dismisses him, having received false confessions in the past, and sends subordinates John Nivens and Ramon Hall to interview him. Tom directs them to the storage unit where his money is kept but Nivens convinces Hall to take the money for themselves.

Nivens and Hall confront Tom at gunpoint at his hotel and learn he has two-thirds of the money hidden elsewhere as a bargaining chip. When Baker unexpectedly arrives, Nivens murders him while Tom flees with Annie. Tom tells Annie everything and asks her to leave. However, she returns to the storage unit to get security camera footage of Nivens and Hall stealing the money. Nivens and Hall show up and Nivens knocks Annie unconscious before the pair escape with the footage. Tom finds Annie and races her to the hospital. Baker’s partner, Sean Meyers, attempts to arrest Tom, but Tom escapes while telling Meyers what really happened. Meyers begins seeing discrepancies in Nivens’ story.

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Release

In January 2020, Briarcliff Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film and set it for a September 4, 2020 release. It was then re-scheduled to be released on October 9, 2020. In June 2020, it was announced Open Road Films would co-distribute the film with Briarcliff. After temporarily being pulled from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s ultimate U.S. release date was October 16, 2020. Due to the lack of big-budget competition, the film also played in IMAX and Dolby theaters.

Box office

Honest Thief has grossed $14.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $15.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $30.1 million. In the United States, the film grossed $1.3 million from 2,425 theaters on its first day, including $225,000 from Thursday night preview screenings. It went on to debut to $3.6 million, or $4.1 million including Canada’s opening weekend the previous week, topping the box office. In its second weekend the film made $2.4 million, remaining in first, before being dethroned by newcomer Come Play in its third weekend.