Box Office: Shang-Chi Remains #1, Moves Up To 6th Worst Grossing MCU Film
John F. Trent
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings remained atop the domestic box office for the fourth weekend in a row.
(L-R): Director Destin Daniel Cretton, fight instructor Alan Tang, crew camera operator, and Simu Liu on the set of Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
The film starring Simu Liu brought in just over $13 million while still being shown in 3,952 theaters. Shang-Chi originally debuted at the beginning of September in 4,300 theaters. The weekend’s gross brings the total domestic gross to $196.2 million.
The film has earned a total of $166.9 million at the international global box for a total global haul of $363.1 million.
Source: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
While Shang-Chi remained atop the box office, like previous weeks it did not have much competition. It beat out newcomer Dear Evan Hansen. That film brought in $7.4 million.
The rest of the top 5 included Free Guy, which brought in $4.1 million, Candyman which clawed in $2.5 million, and Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho which earned just over $2 million.
The total domestic haul in theaters for the weekend was one of the worst of the year with The-Numbers reporting theater grosses only topped $37.7 million. The last time a weekend box office gross hit that low was in the middle of May when they only earned $20 million.
London, UK – August 26: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Jonathan Schwartz and Destin Daniel Cretton attend the “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” UK Gala Screening at Curzon Mayfair on August 26, 2021 in London, UK.
Shang-Chi’s total domestic gross makes the film the 6th worst grossing MCU film based on pure domestic box office gross. The film beats The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger, Ant-Man, Thor, and Black Widow.
However, if you adjust for inflation, the film drops down a few notches. It only beats out The Incredible Hulk and Black Widow.
There’s also an argument to be made that Black Widow has actually earned more than Shang-Chi as it was released the same day on Disney+ as it was released in theaters. While Disney has not revealed how much Black Widow earned via Premier Access in total, they did reveal that it grossed $60 million in its opening weekend.
If you add that $60 million to Black Widow’s box office gross it trounces Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Meaning Shang-Chi is arguably the second lowest grossing film of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
While Shang-Chi is definitely not living up to previous grosses when it comes to Marvel Cinematic Universe films at the box office, it does appear that the film will at least break even if the predicted production budget of $150 million is true.
If indeed $150 million is the production budget, that would mean Shang-Chi would have to earn $375 million. A film usually needs to gross 2.5 times that number in order to break even. That means it still needs to earn $12 million to hit that mark.
It more than likely will do so, but the film could see a drastic decline in its grosses this upcoming weekend as it finally faces competition from Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
The film is currently on pace to eclipse Ant-Man and the Wasp, which earned $216 million at the domestic theaters, but it’s behind Doctor Strange’s $232.6 million. As it stands now it looks like it will earn around $220 million.
But again that’s if it maintains its current trajectory. It’s possible Venom: Let There Be Carnage could derail that trajectory as it takes over theaters this upcoming weekend.
Source: The-Numbers
What do you make of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ring’s box office performance?
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