‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Punches Up $8.8 Million at Thursday Box Office

Critical and audience acclaim, combined with its status as a theatrically exclusive film, has turned “Shang-Chi” into a film that has not only been the biggest boost to theaters in months but has also convinced Disney to commit to theatrical exclusivity for the remainder of the year. It is also now on track to become the first film since the shutdown to gross $200 million in North America.

New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. finally brought the “Mortal Kombat” franchise back to the big screen with a hard-reboot produced by James Wan and director Simon McQuoid.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Shang-Chi And The Legend of The Ten Rings” held on the top place at the South Korean box office for the second weekend. But it failed to sustain overall cinemagoing in what used to be, pre-COVID, the world’s fourth largest theatrical market.“Shang-Chi” earned $2.63 million in its second weekend for a market share of 50%.

And in another victory for champions of theatrical exclusivity, “Shang-Chi” now has a higher 10-day domestic total than “Black Widow” with $145 million domestic and $257.6 million worldwide. The Scarlett Johannson blockbuster, which was offered as a $30 premium Disney+ title, had $131 million and a 69% second weekend drop compared to 54% for “Shang-Chi.” “Shang-Chi” isn’t the only way Disney is resuming its domination of the box office.

By Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel's to its Cinematic Universe, has been out less than a week and is already with nearly $100 million in ticket sales. If you were one of those theater-goers (and with numbers like that, it seems likely), then you know: It's not just one of the best action-packed films in the MCU—it's one of the best action films, full stop. Led by director Destin Daniel Cretton, the cast is a large part of what makes Shang-Chi so successful.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, one of the many new movie releases out now in movie theaters.Recently, I’ve preferred watching the Thursday showing of a movie before its official release on Friday. I just started graduate school, though, and one of my classes is directly at the time I used to watch movies.

Defying what has historically been a slow end-of-summer frame at the box office, Disney/Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” smashed records over the Labor Day weekend by grossing an estimated $71.4 million over the three-day frame and a Disney-projected $83.5 million through Monday from 4,300 locations.

, Marvel's new joint ushering the Master of Kung Fu from the comics into the MCU: Of the months of training star Simu Liu took on to master those martial arts and look the part of a Marvel superhero. Of the long weeks spent shooting even one of the set pieces, with much of the stunt work done by the cast themselves.

Black Panther,” is based on a comic book most moviegoers barely knew anything about when they first walked into the theater. Didn’t matter.

Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit collective Gold House announced the launch of a Gold Open for Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in partnership with GoFundMe.Gold House’s Gold Open premieres, launched in partnership with CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) are an initiative that aims to drive box office success for films led by Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Gold House will bring the momentum of its #GoldOpen campaigns to Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The nonprofit collective of Asian & Pacific Islanders will team up with CAPE and GoFundMe to launch its #GoldOpen events in Los Angeles and New York City, to further bolster support for the Simu Liu-led action film.

“Candyman,” the horror film from director Nia DaCosta and co-writer Jordan Peele, made $1.9 million at the box office in its Thursday night previews from 2,750 theaters with showings beginning at 7 p.m. It opens on 3,569 North American theaters.“Candyman,” an MGM film released by Universal, is a contemporary reimagining and spiritual sequel to the 1992 cult classic of the same name.Universal is projecting the film to open in the mid-teens this weekend.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (★★★☆☆), the first Marvel entry to feature a predominantly Asian cast. Directed and co-written by Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy), the film expands the franchise mythology, while leaping feet-first into its own style of wuxia action superhero fantasy steeped in Chinese culture.The plot still relies on the regular go-to of a villain coveting magical talismans — in this case, the titular ten legendary rings.

In many ways, “Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings” is a remix of previous Marvel Studios films that’s a little more pronounced than most films that play with superhero archetypes.