New ‘Legend’ for Labor Day at box office
Marvel’s latest movie set a Labor Day weekend record at the box office.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” opened with $71.4 million at North American theaters between Friday and Sunday, and is projected to finish the four-day holiday weekend with $83.5 million, Variety reported.
“Let’s. Freaking. Go,” the film’s star, Simu Liu, tweeted over the weekend, reacting to his movie’s success.
The superhero flick’s debut more than doubled that of the 2007 horror film “Halloween,” which held the previous Labor Day weekend record with $30.6 million.
“Shang-Chi” is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe led by an Asian hero and a predominantly Asian cast.
The film, which earned rave reviews, tells the origin story of the title hero, portrayed by Liu, who was raised as an assassin by his power-hungry father and must confront his past.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, “Shang-Chi” also stars Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang and Tony Leung.
Finishing second at the domestic box office was the previous weekend’s winner, the horror film “Candyman,” which made $10.5 million between Friday and Sunday.
“Free Guy,” which stars Ryan Reynolds as a background character in a video game, made $8.7 million during that stretch to finish third.
Each of those films was released exclusively in theaters.
The movie industry continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, with the delta variant of the virus sparking the most recent wave of concern.
Last week, Paramount Pictures postponed “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jackass Forever” until 2022 in the latest instance of the theatrical release schedule being shifted.
With its $71.4 million three-day haul, “Shang-Chi” turned in the second-biggest opening of any film since the start of the pandemic.
Only “Black Widow” — a Marvel movie led by Scarlet Johansson — had a bigger theatrical debut, making $80.3 million from July 9-11.
The latest “Fast & Furious” movie, “F9,” made about $70 million during its opening weekend in June.
That now stands as the third-largest debut of the pandemic.
“Shang-Chi” made an additional $127.6 million at the international box office over the weekend.