Marvel's 'Shang-Chi' smashed Labor Day box-office records with a projected $90 million haul over the long weekend
- "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is projected to earn $90 million over Labor Day weekend.
- The film's box-office earnings by Sunday had already topped the Labor Day weekend record from 2007.
- "Shang-Chi" had the second-largest opening weekend during the pandemic behind "Black Widow."
Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is expected to finish its first four days in theaters having earned over $90 million in the US, breaking the box-office record for the long Labor Day weekend.
"Shang-Chi," which is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first Asian-led superhero film, debuted Friday. As Variety noted, Labor Day weekend is typically slow, but "Shang-Chi" reportedly amassed $75.5 million from 4,300 theaters in three days. Disney projects the film will add $14.5 million more on Monday, according to Deadline.
This means "Shang-Chi" will easily break the Labor Day record set by "Halloween" in 2007, which earned $30.6 million over four days.
"Shang-Chi" also achieved the second-largest three-day opening weekend of the coronavirus pandemic behind Marvel's "Black Widow," which earned $80 million over three days, Variety reported.
While "Black Widow" was simultaneously released in theaters and on Disney+, "Shang-Chi" had a staggered rollout. The film is scheduled to play only in theaters for its first 45 days before debuting on Disney+.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek called the film's release an "interesting experiment" during the company's third-quarter earnings call in August.
The "Shang-Chi" star Simu Liu later seemed to react to Chapek's comments on both Instagram and Twitter, saying: "We are not an 'interesting experiment."
"We are the underdog; the underestimated," Liu continued. "We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprise."
Marvel Studios' president, Kevin Feige, addressed Liu's comments at the film's premiere, saying there was a "misunderstanding" around Chapek's comments.
"The proof is in the movie," Feige said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "And we swing for the fences as we always do. With the amount of creative energy we put in and the budget, there's no expense spared to bring this origin story to the screen."
Variety reported that "Shang-Chi" also made $56.2 million internationally, performing well in markets including France, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Globally, the film made $146.2 million, per Variety.