Shang-Chi Brings In Less Than Black Widow For It's Opening Weekend At The Box Office

Jay Cochran - September 05, 2021

Update: Variety is reporting that Shung-Chi is bringing in a little bit more than THR had reported, stating the film brought in $71.4 million over the course of three days as opposed to only $60 million. This at least edges out F9 which brought in $70 million for it's opening weekend earlier this year.

Black Widow is the only other MCU movie to have been released since the COVID pandemic began. It brought in $80 million from theaters alone in it's opening three days with an additional $60 million from Disney+ viewers. Now Shung-Chi has the advantage of opening on a 4-day holiday weekend and is expected to bring in somewhere in the neighborhood of $83.5 million from theaters over the course of 4 days. So in four days Shung-Chi might be able to eek out a little bit more than what Black Widow did in three days at theaters, but when you factor in the extra $60 million Black Widow brought in from Disney+, you can see Shung-Chi doesn't even come close to matching the overall box office take.

Now some people are seemingly trying to make this about which movie is better, Black Widow or Shung-Chi which is not the point I was trying to make below. The point I was making which I feel are backed up even with these updated numbers is many people are simply not ready to go back to theaters. So trying to force them to especially now with COVID ramping back up is ridiculous in my humble opinion. I fully support a simultaneous release at both home and theaters. I say let the consumer decide for themselves which way they prefer to view these things, and if people want to go to the theater then I say more power to them. However for those who don't, I think it's far past time they be listened to as well.

According to THR the movie is expected to only bring in around $60 million domestically this weekend which is being hyped by some as the third biggest opening weekend for a movie since the pandemic began, coming in behind F9 and Black Widow. Now saying the movie had the third biggest take might sound impressive if it wasn't for the fact I can count on one hand how many movies that I would consider to be big box office movies have actually opened in theaters since the pandemic began. The reality is most studios have either chosen to delay the release of such movies or release them direct to home via streaming services.

Also lets not kid ourselves, Shang-Chi isn't just any movie. It's a MCU Marvel movie, and the fact it didn't bring in as much money from theaters as Black Widow did which was released in theaters and at home at the same time is really glaring to me. Black Widow for it's opening weekend brought in $80 million from domestic movie theaters while bringing in an additional $60 million from people who watched it at home on Disney+. That's a total of $140 million for it's domestic opening weekend. So not only is Shang-Chi not coming close to bringing in what Black Widow did for it's opening weekend, the fact it didn't even bring in as much at theaters as Black Widow did at theaters shows a problem in my view. A movie that could only be watched in theaters you would think would at least bring in more from theaters than one you could watch at both home and theaters right?

Me pointing all this out isn't to say Shang-Chi is a bad movie. In fact everything I have been hearing about the movie suggests it is actually a pretty good one and perhaps even better than Black Widow. No my point is that I don't think this movie's opening weekend can or should be painted as a win for the studio and that perhaps studio's need to quit trying to force people to go watch these things in movie theaters. I am all for doing simultaneous releases at both home and theaters, so that people who in fact prefer to watch these at the theater can, but trying to force people who don't want to watch it in theaters in my view needs to stop. It's obviously not working and trying to spin it like it is seems ridiculous to me.

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Comments...

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )

McHogan - 2021-09-17 @ 7:19 pm

On 9/16/2021 at 11:47 PM, monron999 said:
Spot on. It was a decent movie. Definitely better than I expected. The action was good and I really enjoyed the interpretation of "Mandarin". Character designs were drab but Shang-Chi was never all that dynamic from the start. At least they didn't give him the treatment that Netflix gave Iron Fist and put him in sweats and douche casual suits. Not near the upper tier of MCU movies, but certainly better than Captain Space Jesus and Dark World and arguably Iron Man 3.
I agree with your assessment of Awkwafina. She is about the most annoying person in Hollywood right now. Where the hell she came from, how she managed to squirrel her way into fame and when will her damn 15 minutes be up is a mystery for the ages. Even Jar Jar Binks was rolling his eyes. Movie did not need her brand of "comedy". Woulda been better without her.
I doubt the movie will spawn a second wave cuz they hit on most of the main characters out front. Put it out cuz you had to, cut bait and then forget it. Same can probably be said for the Eternals wave. Insomnia curing designs, monochromatic color schemes, lame BAF. I'm sure they had this in mind when they decided to knock out the entire crew in one wave and a few exclusives. Get em all outta the way, rip off the band-aid and start looking to the future. I still maintain the movie might be good, but nothing more than a one-off to set up future projects and explain plot holes from the past.

I agree about the Eternals Legends wave. Even Hasbro had to sit back and think this is such an uninspiring group of figures. The best strategy therefore as you said: get them all out at once and move on to sure fire waves.

i did enjoy Wen Wus obvious amusement of Trevor usurping his 10 Rings army. That set up one of the best cameos in years. People can say what you want about Iron Man 3s Mandarin twist, Trevor is a great character. Waaaaay better than literally everything Marvels Katy did.

monron999 - 2021-09-17 @ 3:47 am

On 9/16/2021 at 10:06 PM, McHogan said:
Overall, I think this is a fun film. It hasnt changed my mind about the boring character designs and Dont see this film really raising interest in the accompanying Legends figures released months ago. Figure Eternals will do little for the figures either but will wait and see

Spot on. It was a decent movie. Definitely better than I expected. The action was good and I really enjoyed the interpretation of "Mandarin". Character designs were drab but Shang-Chi was never all that dynamic from the start. At least they didn't give him the treatment that Netflix gave Iron Fist and put him in sweats and douche casual suits. Not near the upper tier of MCU movies, but certainly better than Captain Space Jesus and Dark World and arguably Iron Man 3.

I agree with your assessment of Awkwafina. She is about the most annoying person in Hollywood right now. Where the hell she came from, how she managed to squirrel her way into fame and when will her damn 15 minutes be up is a mystery for the ages. Even Jar Jar Binks was rolling his eyes. Movie did not need her brand of "comedy". Woulda been better without her.

I doubt the movie will spawn a second wave cuz they hit on most of the main characters out front. Put it out cuz you had to, cut bait and then forget it. Same can probably be said for the Eternals wave. Insomnia curing designs, monochromatic color schemes, lame BAF. I'm sure they had this in mind when they decided to knock out the entire crew in one wave and a few exclusives. Get em all outta the way, rip off the band-aid and start looking to the future. I still maintain the movie might be good, but nothing more than a one-off to set up future projects and explain plot holes from the past.

McHogan - 2021-09-17 @ 3:06 am

Finally gathered the family together and keep our tradition of watching the latest MCU movie together.

This film was a good Marvel movie full of great action, few funny spots and continues the Universe building. but It missed the mark for me in a lot of ways.

The bad: Ive never wanted a character to die to propel the Heros story more than Awkwafinas Marvels Katy. She was GRATING from beginning to end and had zero chemistry with Shang Chi. Morris was obviously there for the kids. Hiring relative unknown actors backfired here as most showed little range. Normally I dig Marvels type of humor but these jokes were just bad. And Marvels Katys Hotel California distraction was groan inducing.

Ugh these villains. Wen Wu aside, I wont spoil anything for those who have yet to see this film but one who was featured prominently in trailers meets a very Fett like ending and the other is completely wasted.

The good. Tony Leung stole this movie with his performance. This is the one guy in the film to bring his A game. I got more emotion from him through the film then literally every other actor in the movie, ( tho which is it Disney? Is Wen Wu a battle hardened Warlord or a father driven to madness by tragedy} They keep TELLING us what a blood thirsty monster he was but his actions SHOWED us he was anything but). His arc was really more redeeming than Shang Chis.

Simu Lius fight scenes were amazing. I agree the bus fight is a top MCU moment and a great introduction to Shang Chi.

The cameos were fun and helped build the MCU heading into an uncertain phase. A few were just classic Marvel Comics one panel type appearance of a unrelated character that would pop up in the main characters book. The others felt a little forced but since I have great love for those characters it was fun to see them again.

Overall, I think this is a fun film. It hasnt changed my mind about the boring character designs and Dont see this film really raising interest in the accompanying Legends figures released months ago. Figure Eternals will do little for the figures either but will wait and see

monron999 - 2021-09-09 @ 1:24 pm

On 9/8/2021 at 7:38 PM, Benn said:
Um, excuse me, but I dont appreciate you making light of the Larson strain. I have a really good friend who contracted it, and I assure you it was no laughing matter. The primary symptom was that every time she said anything, the virus would take it out of context, weaponize it, and spread it around. At one point, her body temperature had fallen all the way down to 54 before the hospital was able to suspend reviews and bring it back up to 96. It was soul-chilling, and I dont appreciate the jokes.

Haven't we all? By liberal dogwatching standards today, once you've endured a crisis, which I have, you're then allowed to make lite of it. I didn't write the rules.

Plus, if that's all you got outta that then you're obviously just looking for something to be outraged about. Happy hunting, I'm not gonna be dragged into another thread killing argument just cuz you don't like what I said. The next time I take into account whether everyone will appreciate what I have to say will be the first time.

Benn - 2021-09-09 @ 12:38 am

On 9/7/2021 at 8:21 AM, monron999 said:
But wait, didn't Shang Chi just kick all kinds ofayass right in the middle of the delta, alpha & omega, epsilon, lambda lambda lambda, sultry, ultra, mega, Larson strain?

Um, excuse me, but I dont appreciate you making light of the Larson strain. I have a really good friend who contracted it, and I assure you it was no laughing matter. The primary symptom was that every time she said anything, the virus would take it out of context, weaponize it, and spread it around. At one point, her body temperature had fallen all the way down to 54 before the hospital was able to suspend reviews and bring it back up to 96. It was soul-chilling, and I dont appreciate the jokes.

Benn - 2021-09-09 @ 12:19 am

On 9/8/2021 at 2:45 AM, SpiderS said:
although seeing Trevor was kinda good surprise.

Yeah, that definitely would have been a nice surprise for me.

SpiderS - 2021-09-08 @ 6:45 am

I am really disappointed with that movie, it seems like knock version of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" infused with worst aspects of mcu generic.There's great memorable action scenes,especially bus scene,which is easily top 5 MCUsequences, although final battle is uninspired CGI mess,humor is the typical cringe inducing marvel humor, I don't think such huge inclusion of Awkwafina adds anything to make movie any better or funnier, if anything if we saw more sad and lonely Shang Chi working dead end job while also suffering traumas of his tragic childhood we could have way more compelling character arc that would make us more sympathetic to him but instead we get cringe jokes,although seeing Trevor was kinda good surprise. But whole character plot point of Shang Chi and his fatherseems like unfinished draft that needed way more work, Wenwu who supposed to be brutalancient Warlord with years of experience seems like just a modern day guy who really misses his wife, movie does very littleto portray him as anything close to thousandyear old warlord, and they had legendary Tony Leung andthey gave him this scriptwhen they could easily write and portray character that could easily rival and best Thanos. This movie gives me same impression as Black Widow,another wasted opportunity, but at least Shang Chi might get better sequel.

memocromatico - 2021-09-07 @ 9:01 pm

On 9/5/2021 at 10:31 PM, Gigantor said:
Lol! If you got the jab, you're "immune" to the China virus. Why would you be worried about the one who choose not to get the jab or walk around wearing face diapers? Don't you trust the "science"? Also, why go to a " crammed" theater? Since I hate dealing with crowds, noisy brats, I always go on Sundays and watch the 11am matinee, only a handful of people at that time.

Because we understand the science. If we had all taken it seriously from the beginning we wouldnt be dealing with variants that occur when the virus mutates to better adapt to surviving. If we do not eradicate the virus, it doesnt matter how immune you are, you will always be at risk unless the virus cant find hosts to mutate in. You read comic books, you understand mutants and evolution, right? Even if I were as selfless as @Virtualzach, taking care of others ends up taking care of myself. Hope you stay healthy and no one you know suffers from the consequences of this.

memocromatico - 2021-09-07 @ 8:44 pm

Just watched it last night. It was awesome. I loved everything in it, the costume design, the production design for Ta Lo and its creatures, the lighting and color in the photography. And the story, I related to Shang-Chis troubled upbringing in a non-criminal but ideology conflicting house. It even made me not hate Awkwafina, so thats something I give kudos to.

10 out of 10 rings from me.

mako - 2021-09-07 @ 7:51 pm

On 9/6/2021 at 8:59 PM, RyanDaly said:
From the rumors I've heard, it sounds like they are indeed retaining Charlie Cox to play Matt Murdock in future projects. I'm fine with that, but I just hope that they improve his Daredevil costume the next time he wears it.

I wouldn't get my hopes up.

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