Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Disney’s ‘Shang-Chi’ Leads Sluggish Weekend Box Office
September 19, 2021
The Disney/Marvel Cinematic Universe release Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings again led all movies at the domestic box office, generating an estimated $21.7 million in ticket sales through Sept. 19. The tally is expected to push the movie past Disney/Marvel’s Black Widow ($183.2 million) as the top-grossing domestic movie in the pandemic era.
While Shang-Chi performed as expected, the title received a setback of sorts when the Chinese government did not include it in its list of approved theatrical releases — as it did for MGM’s latest James Bond actioner No Time to Die (Oct. 29) and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Dune (Oct. 22). As usual, politics is playing a role as both the lead star and director of Shang-Chi are Chinese ex-patriots.
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Meanwhile, 91-year-old director/actor Clint Eastwood’s drama Cry Macho did not replicate the icon’s previous effort, The Mule, generating $4.5 million across 3,967 screens — to finish third behind 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy with around $5 million ($108.3 million).
The other new release, Open Road’s Copshop, starring Gerard Butler, generated $2.2 million across more than 3,000 screens to finish outside the Top 5.
The Universal Pictures horror sequel Candyman tallied $3.5 million ($53 million) for fourth place, while Warner’s horror film Malignant saw $2.6 million in ticket sales ($9.7 million). The movie is streaming for free to HBO Max subscribers for 31 days.