‘Shang-Chi’ Rings Up $8.8M In Thursday Night Previews

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%.

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.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is officially big!

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings outperformed expectations at the global and international box office this weekend, coming in with $56.2M overseas for the standard frame, and a new Labor Day record $83.5M for the four-day domestic session ($71.4M three-day). Combined, and including the Labor Day estimate, the worldwide total is $139.7M. Stripping out Monday’s domestic forecast, the weekend comes in at $127.6M global.

After all the hype from the Marvel Studios marketing machine, it’s finally time for the world to be introduced to “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” It’s been a little while since Marvel introduced a new character in a feature film (“Captain Marvel” back in 2019), and the studio is hoping people fall in love with Simu Liu and the Master of Kung-fu.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” kicked off its box office in Thursday night previews by making $8.8 million from screenings beginning at 6 p.m.

, 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.

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.

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.

wuxia storytelling.We meet Shang-Chi (Liu), hiding in San Francisco as a hotel valet under the name Shaun, an obfuscation his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) later rightfully points out is a lazy way to keep a low profile when his father Wenwu (Leung) is a thousand-year-old warrior with super-powered bracelets, endless resources, and foot soldiers around the globe working for his organization, the Ten Rings.