It’s been a big week for Simu Liu, with the relative unknown now a household name all over the world after his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opened to a global first weekend of $140 million, blowing even the most optimistic of projections out of the water.
On top of landing the second highest-grossing domestic debut of the pandemic era with $71 million, Destin Daniel Cretton’s comic book blockbuster also tripled the previous Labor Day record once the numbers had been officially crunched to determine that Shang-Chi hauled in $90 million across the four-day frame.
If that still wasn’t enough, the movie confirmed Shang-Chi as the newest addition to the Avengers roster, while Liu ended up going viral once again after his past career as a stock photo model gained new traction in the wake of his career-changing success.
Leaning into the online buzz, the 32 year-old reacted to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings dominating the box office with one of his old stock photos, which you can see below.
Early predictions had Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings tracking for the MCU’s worst-ever opening weekend, but it ended up outstripping not just The Incredible Hulk, but Captain America: The First Avenger, Ant-Man and Thor as well, a phenomenal return given the circumstances the industry has been dealing with for the last eighteen months.
