Shang-Chi Debuts with a Marvel-ous $71.4 Million in North America; Shatters All-Time Labor Day Record
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
Sept. 5, 2021


Theater owners got down on their knees and thanked the movie gods this weekend for the arrival of Marvel’s newest superhero extravaganza over the usually sleepy Labor Day frame.

Disney’s latest entry in the MCU, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, blew past industry predictions and bowed to a Marvel-ous $71.4 million over the first three days of the long holiday weekend, making it the second-highest grossing film of the COVID era, just behind Black Widow’s $80.3 million back in July.

Unlike that film, however, the Asian-themed Shang-Chi is playing exclusively in theaters and should thus prove to have longer legs than Scarlett Johansson & Co.’s epic, which simultaneously rolled out on Disney+.




Originally slated to hit theaters back in February, Shang-Chi proved to be worth the wait. The PG-13-rated film, which is Marvel’s first to feature an Asian superhero and be anchored by a cast and director of Asian origin, was expected to pull in between $45 and $50 million over its first weekend.

But it quickly became clear that the movie — which stars Simu Liu along with Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Leung — would blow past those bearish projections. In fact, Shang-Chi’s projected four-day holiday weekend haul of $83.5 million leaves the previous Labor Day box-office record holder, 2007’s Halloween (with $30.6), well in the dust. It was just the sort of news that nervous theater owners were hoping for.




With an impressive $13.2 million of its total receipts coming from IMAX screens, Shang-Chi proved to be a hit with both audiences (who gave the film a straight ‘A’ CinemaScore) but critics as well (who goosed the film to a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes).

Unspooling in 4,300 locations, Marvel’s latest earned a whopping $16,604 per-screen average and added on another $56.2 million from overseas.







As for the runner-up spot, that honor went to last week’s champ, Candyman, which pulled in slightly more than $10.5 million domestically over the weekend’s first three days — a drop off of -52% from the previous session.

The hook-handed horror flick is estimated to pull in a projected $13.4 million over the long four-day weekend. Universal’s R-rated chiller earned a $2,956 per-screen average in 3,569 theaters, putting its two-week North American total at $41.9 million.

To date, Candyman has added $10.9 from overseas, putting its global box office total at $52.9 million. Like Shang-Chi, it is only available in theaters.







As is the holiday weekend’s third place finisher: 20th Century Studios and Disney’s Free Guy. The irreverent PG-13-rated action comedy raked in $8.7 million in the first three days of the long weekend and is projected to wind up with $11.2 after Monday’s receipts are tallied.

Free Guy slipped -33.8% from the prior frame and managed a $2,244 per-screen average in 3,886 locations. After four weeks, the movie has racked up $94.3 million in North America and an impressive $147.4 million from abroad, bringing is current worldwide box office total to $241.7 million.







In fourth was Paramount’s tyke-targeted ‘toon, PAW Patrol: The Movie. The G-rated spin-off of the hit Nickelodeon kids’ show about a posse of helpful pups, bit off $4 million domestically between Friday and Sunday and is projected to boost that take to $5.2 million by the end of the long weekend.

PAW Patrol fell -39.9% from the previous weekend, managing a $1,331 per-screen average at 3,004 locations. To date, the pups have racked up $31.5 million in North America and have dog-piled on an additional $50.3 million from overseas, putting the film’s worldwide take at $81.8 million.







Rounding out the top five was Disney’s Jungle Cruise, which added slightly more than $3.9 million in its sixth weekend (it is expected to finish the four-day frame with $5.2 million).

The PG-13-rated white-water adventure slipped a modest -21% from the prior session, earning a $1,284 per-screen average in 3,075 theaters. Having pushed past the $100-million domestic milestone last weekend (its current North American cume is $106.9 million), Jungle Cruise has added $86.9 million internationally, bringing its total worldwide haul to $193.8 million.

The film was released day-and-date on the Disney+ platform for a $30 surcharge.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed3849389060/?ref_=bo_hm_hp






September 3-5, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings $75,388,688
2. Candyman $10,300,310 / $38,813,680
3. Free Guy $8,885,466 / $92,059,447
4. Jungle Cruise $4,006,436 / $105,704,427
5. PAW Patrol: The Movie $4,004,814 / $30,329,475
6. Don't Breathe 2 $2,300,590 / $28,081,510
7. Respect $1,239,714 / $21,893,986
8. The Suicide Squad $912,000 / $54,413,632
9. Black Widow $779,444 / $182,532,763
10. The Night House $521,296 / $6,267,222

Shang-Chi Stays on Record Pace with Nearly $35.8 Million in 2nd Weekend; Malignant is D.O.A.
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
Sept. 12, 2021


You can now add sustained box-office might to Shang-Chi’s already-impressive array of superpowers. A week after the Marvel blockbuster’s record-breaking Labor Day roll-out, the film not only held on to the top spot with relative ease, thanks to its nearly $35.8 million sophomore weekend haul, it also roared past Black Widow to become the fastest film to reach the $100 million milestone in North America this year.

The superhero tentpole also crossed the $250 million mark globally.




The latest entry in the still-thriving MCU, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has proven that Disney’s pandemic-era hybrid model (where it simultaneously released its splashiest titles in theaters and on Disney+ for a $30 surcharge) may be becoming a thing of the past.

In fact, Shang-Chi’s resounding success as a theatrical exclusive led the studio to announce last week that its remaining titles for 2021 (which includes Marvel’s Eternals and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story) would follow Shang-Chi’s lead and open only in theaters before making their way to its streaming platform a month and a half later.




Breaking down Shang-Chi’s sophomore week numbers, the film’s North American haul of slightly less than $35.8 million translated to a -52.5% fall-off from the prior session—which may sound steep but is actually pretty consistent with Marvel’s pre-COVID second-weekend declines.

Earning a $8,322 per-screen average in 4,300 theaters, Shang-Chi has now racked up $145.6 million domestically. Meanwhile, the film has added $112 million from overseas to date, which may sound low, but makes sense when you consider that it still hasn’t been scheduled for release in China—one of Marvel’s biggest markets.

Its worldwide cume after two weeks is $257.6 million.







Well below, in second place, was 20th Century Studios and Disney’s Free Guywith $5.8 million. The irreverent PG-13-rated action comedy dipped -34.5% from the prior frame and managed a $1,594 per-screen average in 3,650 locations. After five weeks, the movie finally managed to nose past the $100 million mark, ending up with $101.8 million in North America.

To date, it has added an impressive $174.7 million from abroad, which brings its current worldwide box office total to $276.5 million and seems to indicate that the film’s star, Ryan Reynolds, may now be considered a legitimate international marquee draw.







Sluggishly arriving in third place was Warner Bros.’ horror flick Malignant.

Although it was the only widely released newcomer from a major studio this weekend, and despite the platinum pedigree of its director James Wan (who created both the Saw and Conjuring franchises), the R-rated chiller starring Annabelle Wallis as a woman whose visions of brutal murders come true only managed to scare slightly less than $5.8 million in its debut frame.

Malignant eked out a $1,598 per-screen average in 3,485 theaters and has brought in an additional $9.5 million from overseas, where it opened a week earlier. Its worldwide box-office total is just under $15.1 million, which by any metric has to be considered a disappointment considering its roughly $40 million budget.







In fourth place was another scary movie, Universal’s Candyman, which brought in $4.8 million in its third weekend in theaters. That number represents a -53.1% drop off from the prior session.

The latest installment in the R-rated horror cycle, which stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, earned a $1,473 per-screen average in 3,279 theaters, putting its three-week North American total at $48 million. To date, Candyman has added $11.2 million from overseas, putting its global box office total at $59.2 million.







Rounding out the top five was Disney’s Jungle Cruise, which just keeps cruising along. In its seventh week in theaters, the Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt-starrer added just under $2.5 million.

The PG-13-rated white-water adventure sank a modest -38.7% from the previous frame, earning an $877 per-screen average in 2,800 theaters. To date, Jungle Cruise has pulled in $109.9 million in North America and $86.9 million internationally, bringing its total worldwide tally to $196.8 million.

The film was released day-and-date on the Disney+ platform for a $30 surcharge.







Bubbling under the top five were two very different indie debuts:

Focus Features’ R-rated gambling thriller The Card Counter, which was written and directed by Paul Schrader, and recently unspooled at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, opened in eighth place with $1.1 million.

Meanwhile, Affirm Films’ PG-rated inspirational Christian film, Show Me the Father, opened in ninth place with $700,000.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed3815834628/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 10-12, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings $34,701,070 / $144,516,211
2. Free Guy $144,516,211 / $101,599,920
3. Malignant $5,434,620
4. Candyman $4,761,555 / $47,963,835
5. Jungle Cruise $2,328,543 / $109,771,890
6. PAW Patrol: The Movie $2,300,057 / $34,704,504
7. Don't Breathe 2 $1,156,755 / $30,250,119
8. Card Counter $1,039,580
9. Show Me the Father $700,181
10. Respect $511,189 / $23,198,726

Shang-Chi Three-peats in First with $21.7M; Clint Eastwood's Dry Macho Disappoints
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
September 19, 2021


In its third week in theaters, Disney’s latest superhero tentpole, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, continued to dominate the North American box office.

Pulling in $21.7 million over the otherwise sleepy September frame, Marvel’s most recent epic shows little sign of slowing down and it is well on its way to surpassing its MCU stablemate, Black Widow, to become the top theatrical grosser of the pandemic-plagued year as it rocketed past the $300 million mark in worldwide ticket sales.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s most high-profile newcomer, Clint Eastwood’s Western drama Cry Macho, bowed quietly in third place with a pokey $4.5 million as the cinema legend’s legion of older fans opted to stay home and stream the film from their La-Z-Boys.







Still, the story of the weekend—and of 2021 as a whole—is Shang-Chi, hands down. The comic-book extravaganza has proven that Disney’s COVID-era hybrid model (where it simultaneously released its splashiest titles in theaters and on Disney+ for a $30 premium) is now looking like a thing of the past.

In fact, Shang-Chi’s resounding success as a theatrical exclusive led the studio to recently announce that its remaining titles for 2021 (which includes Marvel’s Eternals and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story) would follow Shang-Chi’s lead and roll out solely in theaters before making their way to its streaming platform a month and a half later.




Shang-Chi, which is now on track to become the first film of 2021 to break the $200 million domestic box-office barrier, dropped off only -37.5% from the previous weekend.

Shang-Chi earned a $5,331 per-screen average in 4,070 theaters and pushed its domestic box-office tally to $176.9 million. Overseas, the film has added $143.7 million to date, which may sound low, but makes more sense considering that it still hasn’t been scheduled for release in China—one of Marvel’s biggest markets.

Its worldwide cume after three weeks is $320.6 million.







Well below, in second place, was 20th Century Studios and Disney’s surprisingly resilient Free Guy with $5.2 million.

The irreverent PG-13-rated action comedy dipped a mere -6.8% from the prior frame and managed a $1,581 per-screen average in 3,288 locations. After six weeks, the movie has compiled $108.6 million domestically and another $189.7 million abroad, bringing its current worldwide box office total to $298.3 million.

It’s official: Ryan Reynolds is now a legit international draw.







Arriving in third place with a slow trot rather than an energetic gallop was Warner Bros.’ latest from director and star Eastwood, Cry Macho.

Forecast to debut with receipts somewhere between $5 million and $10 million, the PG-13-rated Western drama about a former rodeo star hired by his ex-boss to bring the man’s son back from Mexico opened to a disappointing $4.5 million.




The 91-year-old icon’s loyal fanbase is older and clearly chose to watch his latest film on HBO Max, where it was free to the streaming service’s subscribers. It didn’t help that the film didn’t exactly blow away critics (who gave it a 52% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) or audiences (who gave it a lukewarm ‘B’ CinemaScore grade).

Cry Macho bowed to a $1,138 per-screen average in 3,967 theaters and tacked on a negligible $350,000 overseas, placing its first-week global cume at just under $4.9 million.







In fourth place was Universal’s Candyman, which brought in $3.5 million in its fourth weekend. That number represents an impressive -26.5% drop from the prior session.

The latest installment in the R-rated horror cycle earned a $1,241 per-screen average in 2,820 theaters, putting its four-week North American total at $53.2 million.

To date, Candyman has added $13.5 million from abroad, pushing its global box-office total to $66.7 million.







Rounding out the top five was Warner Bros.’ horror flick Malignant, which scared up a hair under $2.7 million in its sophomore weekend, putting its two-week domestic take at $9.8 million.

The R-rated chiller starring Annabelle Wallis as a woman whose visions of brutal murders come true, fell -50.7% from its debut frame. Malignant earned a less-than-hair-raising $765 per-screen average in 3,501 theaters.

So far, it has brought in a more robust $14.8 million in international markets, where it should be noted it opened a week earlier. The movie’s worldwide box office total currently stands at $24.6 million.







Simmering outside of the top five are three indie debuts:

Open Road’s R-rated crime thriller Copshop, starring Gerard Butler, opened in sixth place with just under $2.7 million.

Searchlight’s PG-13-rated The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which traces the rise and fall of real-life televangelists Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) and his wife Tammy Faye (Jessica Chastain), bowed in ninth place with $675,000 in limited release.

Focus Features’ R-rated immigration drama Blue Bayou, starring and helmed by Justin Chon, debuted in thirteenth place with $315,000 also in limited release.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed3782280196/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 17-19, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings $21,670,751 / $176,864,306
2. Free Guy $5,086,435 / $108,462,465
3. Macho $4,426,161
4. Candyman $3,524,205 / $53,192,695
5. Malignant $2,716,557 / $9,840,084
6. Copshop $2,315,638
7. Jungle Cruise $2,077,076 / $112,571,412
8. PAW Patrol: The Movie $1,722,105 / $37,115,602
9. Don't Breathe 2 $671,096 / $31,344,224
10. The Eyes of Tammy Faye $652,358

Shang-Chi Keeps Rolling Out in Top Spot with $13.3 Million, Passing Black Widow as Top Film of 2021; Dear Evan Hansen Disappoints
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
September 26, 2021


Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings continued to own the September box office this weekend, easily holding onto the top spot in North America for the fourth consecutive frame.

The Disney superhero tentpole racked up another $13.3 million in North America, bringing its total domestic haul to $196.5 million, putting it ahead of its Marvel stablemate Black Widow as the highest-grossing film of 2021.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s only major newcomer, Universal’s Dear Evan Hansen, hit a slightly sour note in its debut, pulling in a disappointing $7.5 million, which was still good enough for second place during what turned out to be a slow session.







Shang-Chi, which should break the $200 million barrier in domestic ticket sales early this week (becoming the first movie since 2020’s Bad Boys for Life to do so), was the first title to earn the No. 1 spot four weekends in a row since Tenet accomplished the same feat last year.

The Marvel movie has easily become the big box-office story of the year as we head into October and its slate of blockbuster hopefuls such as Venom: Let There Be Carnage, No Time to Die, and Dune.



Shang-Chi’s $13.3 million in receipts over the weekend brought its current domestic tally to $196.5 million (putting Black Widow and its $183.6 million in the rearview mirror). The PG-13-rated film dipped a modest -38.7% from the previous weekend and earned a $3,361 per-screen average in 3,952 locations.

Overseas, the film has added $166.9 million to date despite it lack of a release China — one of Marvel’s biggest markets. Its worldwide cume after four weeks is $363.4 million.







Well below, in second place, was Universal’s rookie Dear Evan Hansen, which earned $7.5 million in its debut weekend. A star-studded adaptation of the hit 2016 Broadway musical, the PG-13-rated film cost only $27 million to produce.

But its underwhelming first-weekend numbers can only be viewed as disappointing, especially since the film was predicted to make $10 million over its opening frame.



The coming-of-age story about an anxious high school student caught in a lie that snowballs out of his control features Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Ben Platt (who also toplined the stage version).

And while the film was hardly a musical misfire on par with the studio’s 2019 dog-with-fleas, Cats, Dear Evan Hansen scored a soft $2,229 per-screen average in 3,364 theaters.



While critics pulled out their knives on the film (it earned a 33% green splat on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences responded more positively giving it an A- grade from CinemaScore.

The film will need a lot of positive word of mouth to stick around in what promises to be a very crowded marketplace in the coming weeks. Dear Evan Hansen did not open internationally.







In third place was 20th Century Studios and Disney’s ulra-resilient Free Guy with $4.1 million. The irreverent PG-13-rated action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds slipped a mere -18.8% in its seventh weekend and managed a $1,300 per-screen average in 3,175 locations.

After nearly two months, the movie has compiled $114.1 million domestically and a supersized $203.3 million abroad, bringing its current worldwide box office total to $317.4 million. It just keeps going and going and going….







In fourth place (again) was Universal’s Candyman, which scared up $2.5 million in its fifth weekend. That number represents a decent -28.8% drop from the previous session.

The latest installment in the R-rated horror cycle earned a $982 per-screen average in 2,556 theaters, putting its five-week North American total at $56.8 million.

So far, Candyman has added $14.8 million from abroad (where the franchise is less known), pushing its global box-office haul to $71.6 million.







Rounding out the top five was Warner Bros.’ Cry Macho, the latest film from 91-year-old director and star Clint Eastwood.

The PG-13-rated Western drama about a former rodeo star hired by his ex-boss to bring the man’s son back from Mexico tacked on $2.1 million in its sophomore weekend, bringing its two-week North American tally to $8.3 million.

The movie, which is also available on HBO Max, nosedived -52.2% from its debut frame. Cry Macho earned a $525 per-screen average in 4,022 theaters and has added a negligible $762,000 overseas to date, putting its worldwide box-office cume at $9.1 million.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed4017161220/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 24-26, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings $13,031,411 / $196,205,495
2. Dear Evan Hansen $7,443,830
3. Free Guy $4,111,021 / $114,121,092
4. Candyman $2,558,445 / $56,890,355
5. Cry Macho $2,047,054 / $8,274,592
6. Jungle Cruise $1,724,341 / $114,893,077
7. Malignant $1,500,765 / $12,264,268
8. Copshop $1,265,439 / $4,492,435
9. PAW Patrol: The Movie $1,175,398 / $38,816,317
10. Love Story $971,000

I think Marvel is trying to make Shang-Chi And The Ten Rings their new project to focus on because from what I heard about it I think this movie will become huge like Guardians Of The Galaxy was and there might even be a Shang-Chi sequel being made in the future. And like Black Panther was a hit Shang-Chi And The Ten Rings might make Shang-Chi's actor a huge action star as Black Panther did for Chadwick Boseman. But just like Guardians Of The Galaxy had Groot Shang-Chi And The Ten Rings has a lovable character in Morris and I think he's the major star of the movie next to Shang-Chi. Already merchandise based on this movie is really hot and will fly off shelves during Christmas
Bestie