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Shang-Chi Passes $400M at Global Box Office Even Without China
Disney and Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings continues to outperform expectations at the box office, sailing past $400 million worldwide. The Phase 4 MCU movie is in its sixth weekend since its release, which was back on September 3. Shang-Chi was an immediate success upon release, grossing $29.6 million at the box office on its opening day, which was the third-best opening day during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shang-Chi would go on to take the crown of the largest Labor Day weekend opening ever. The Disney film earned over $94 million at the box office during the 4-day weekend, far surpassing Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween reboot which previously held the Labor Day opening weekend crown at $30.6 million. Shang-Chi ended up earning $100 million in just five days, making it the fastest to film to reach such a milestone since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film held the number one spot at the box office for four consecutive weekends, marking it as the third MCU movie to pull off such a feat behind Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther. By September 30, Shang-Chi hit another box office record by becoming the first pandemic era movie to achieve the $200 million box office milestone, and it seems the film has just surpassed another one.
Forbes reports that Marvel's Shang-Chi sailed past the $400 million milestone at the global box office in the sixth weekend since its release. During the past weekend, the film grossed an additional $4.2 million for a domestic total of over $212 million, setting it up for a final domestic gross between $220 million and $225 million. The film has also earned over $189 million in other territories, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, and France.
One of the reasons Shang-Chi's performance is so notable is the fact that its international box office does not include China, since the movie has yet to release in the Middle Kingdom. Owing to comments the film's star, Simu Liu, made in a CBC 2017 interview that referenced negative aspects about his parents living in China, the Chinese government excluded Shang-Chi from their list of upcoming MCU movies scheduled to release in its territories. This is particularly noteworthy because Disney's latest film passed the $400 million global box office milestone without the help of a Chinese release, making it the first pandemic-era Hollywood movie to do so. This has led many to speculate on how well Shang-Chi could have performed if it was allowed to release in China.
While Disney was a little reluctant in releasing Black Widow, releasing the movie to both theaters and Disney+, they went all in on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, allowing for an in-theater only debut. The film has clearly been a success, outperforming all expectations, signaling that audiences may be ready to head back to the movies. The movie's success not only ensures a sequel is in the works, but it will be interesting to see how a follow-up film performs when it releases in a post-pandemic era.
