Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to launch in theatres later this week. With quite a bit of adversity given the current state of the global pandemic and according to reports its theatrical release is trending to be the worst in MCU history.
According to the box office tracking website Boxoffice Pro, the 25th film in the MCU history, Shang-Chi, is on track to be its worst performer with just $35 to $55 million USD expected during its opening weekend.
While these numbers don’t look bad by any means, comparatively, this would take the bottom spot from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk which only generated $55.4 million during its opening weekend. And of course, thanks to inflation that number would be much higher.
As far as overall domestic revenue, Boxoffice Pro predicts that the film will generate between $100 million and $165 million during its theatrical run which wouldn’t be the worst for any MCU film with $134.8 million generated by The Incredible Hulk during its time in theatres.
Being a character that fans aren’t yet familiar with it does make sense that the film may not have the selling power of an Avengers movie or some of the recurring Marvel heroes, but the state of the pandemic likely has played a major factor in its release.
The release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings comes at a time where COVID cases have drastically risen once again due to the spread of the Delta variant. For Marvel, this is the first time releasing a movie exclusively in theatres since the pandemic, but according to Marvel Studio’s president Kevin Feige, this will be a test for future Marvel films.
Once we see how the film performs over its opening weekend it will likely become clear what Disney and Marvel’s next moves are regarding theatrical releases for their films.