Army of Thieves

Army of Thieves is a heist film set during the early days of a zombie outbreak, before the events of Army of the Dead. Ludwig Dieter, a shy bank teller with an unusual talent for opening safes, is approached by a mysterious woman named Gwendoline, who recruits him for a crew of criminals. Their target is a series of legendary safes scattered across Europe, and Dieter's safe-cracking skill becomes the key to the plan. The story follows the group as they attempt the robberies while the world around them begins to fall apart.

The film is a German-American production directed by Matthias Schweighöfer, who also plays Dieter. It is his third feature as director, following Break Up Man and The Manny, and was written by Shay Hatten and produced by Zack Snyder, Schweighöfer and Dan Maag. Alongside Schweighöfer, the cast includes Nathalie Emmanuel, Ruby O. Fee, Stuart Martin, Guz Khan and Jonathan Cohen. It was made for about 30 million dollars and took in roughly 47 million worldwide, a modest return.

Audience response has been warmer than the critical one. On IMDb it holds 6.4/10 from around 97,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8/10 from a much smaller pool of voters. The critics' rating stands at 5.9/10 from 98 reviews, placing it below both audience scores. As a prequel, it expands the world of Army of the Dead by focusing on a character audiences first met there.