Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens with $71.4 million estimated box office for the weekend of September 3. The Disney film had the second biggest opening of the year. Another Disney Marvel production, Black Widow, still holds the biggest weekend. That Scarlett Johansson film bowed July 9 with $80 million U.S. ticket sales. Furthermore, it brought in $60 million via Disney+ Premier Access. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi was a theater exclusive with no Disney+ option immediately.
While Black Widow featured a returning character from the Avengers films, Shang-Chi starred characters new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, there were encouraging signs. For example, we saw AMC Theatres selling out showings Friday evening. Furthermore, the reviews were clearly positive. The Marvel film’s Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 92% Sunday evening. Also, the Disney tentpole rated an ‘A’ with CinemaScore.
Questions swirled about how Shang-Chi would perform given the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19. Furthermore, a few tentpoles such as Top Gun Maverick were moved to 2022 release dates in the past week. That raised questions about the viability of other blockbuster films this Fall. We know major films like the latest installments from the Halloween and James Bond franchises are still on the way.
About ‘Shang-Chi‘
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. The film also stars Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu and Ronny Chieng.
Liu celebrated the success with one of the most amazing first pitches. See his backflip during the San Francisco Giants first pitch:
Other Results
Universal’s Candyman rang up $10.6 million for the weekend. The horror film has made $39.1 million so far at the box office. The genre continues to prove durable through the pandemic.
