Shang-Chi Smashes US Weekend Box Office

Labor Day in the US hasn’t particularly been known for box office smashes, but Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend of The Ten Rings, the first new character film in the next phase of the Universe debuted with an $80m opening weekend in the US.

Analysts suspect by the end of the 4-day opening period we may actually see another $10m added for a $90m total.

The 3-day figure from Friday is the biggest opening weekend in the so-called ‘pandemic era’ and the biggest Labor Day weekend since 2007. Which was Rob Zombie’s Halloween which opened with $30m.

Undoubtedly, it’s possible that the film has been helped with its exclusive theatrical release (unlike the previous Marvel film, Black Widow which also opened on Disney Plus for a fee).

However, Black Widow also opened to an $80m weekend but was expected to do more which further exemplifies Shang-Chi’s success.

There have been many debates around where Shang-Chi would lie, and with the demand in some states for proof of vaccine expected to affect the box office, it appears it hasn’t.

Elsewhere around the world, the film took in an estimated $126-127m overall, with releases in Brazil, Mexico, Italy, France (which has seen box office performance mixed due to ‘vaccine-passport’ requirements) and here in the UK.

Shang-Chi has the Biggest Pandemic Opening In the UK

shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-kevin-feige-marvel

Credit: Marvel Studios

In the UK the film saw the biggest pandemic era opening for a movie and it looks set to continue into the next week with analysts predicting a $250m run in the US alone.

Deadline reports that 63% of tickets sold in the US to Shang-Chi were actually brought on the day, and not prebooked tickets, and 10% of its sales came from IMAX showings.

The film cost a reported $150m to make and is already well on track to make back its budget, and if it continues should pave the way for a sequel.

Have you seen Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings?

Are you surprised by its success so far?

Did you enjoy it? Let us know in the comments below we’d love to hear from you!

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