Marvel’s ‘Shang Chi’ Eviscerates the Competition for a Second Consecutive Week

Marvel Studio’s Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings eviscerated the competition for the second week in a row in what is looking like a post-pandemic box office.

Deadline: With great success comes continued great chaos for the theatrical experience this past week. On the plus side, the domestic box office is continuing its rebound during the pandemic, with the second weekend of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings earning $9.7M in its second Friday, -67%  for an estimated 3-day of $35.7M, -53%. That’s the third-biggest second weekend for a September release after It ($60.1M) and It Chapter Two ($39.6M).

But Shang Chi may be precluded from competing in what may have been its largest market: China. In the wake of comments originally made by star Simu Liu in 2017 which resurfaced this week and have made waves on Chinese social media.

In a 2017 interview with the CBC, the Chinese-Canadian actor referenced his parents telling him of conditions under Communist rule and referring to China as a “third world” country where people were “dying of starvation.”

While it was already iffy that Shang-Chi would get a Middle Kingdom date — the market has been stingy of late — its fate may now be sealed. The Chinese government, and the propaganda department which oversees film, have shown themselves to be mercurial to say the least — recall that years-old comments made by Chinese-born Chloe Zhao appeared to kibosh the release of her Oscar-winning Nomadland.

 

Initially, Zhao was heralded in the Middle Kingdom for her accomplishments, but as soon as her comments reappeared, sentiment turned the other way.