Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings continues to perform strongly at the Box Office and is even breaking a record. This weekend, its third in theaters, found the movie bringing in just under $22 million. This put it in the top spot for the weekend at the Box Office. It also helped the Marvel Studios made movie break a record. It now has the best ever gross for the third weekend in September.
The movie also has pulled ahead of Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Far From Home’s third weekends. However, it has not passed up their overall performances at the Box Office with its current $177 million.
Disney has stated that the movie will remain in theaters exclusively for 45 days before being available on Disney+. It isn’t known how that could potentially impact the movie’s overall box numbers at this point. However, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has indicated that this will be one data point of many as they look towards the future of what movie releases may look like.
The movie industry continues to analyze and adjust to the conditions in theaters due to the ongoing pandemic. Theaters have seen a recovery thanks to movies like Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings and Free Guy, which were released exclusively in theaters. Other movies like Black Widow and Jungle Cruise were released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access (additional cost).
The dual release led to a lawsuit from Black Widow star Scarlett Johannson who believes this release strategy was a breach of contract. The outcome of this lawsuit is being watched closely by those in the industry who are also wondering how it will impact the future of movie releases.
At this time there are a lot of unknowns for the movie industry. There are also some reasons to be hopeful. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings box office performance is one of those reasons. Disney also announced that it is theatrical slate through the rest of the year will be released exclusively in theaters. How those perform will undoubtedly determine Disney’s release strategy moving forward.
What do you think about Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings achieving this new milestone and breaking a new record? Did you see it? What did you think? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
