The good news just keeps on coming for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, even if recently resurfaced comments made by star Simu Liu look to have ended any hopes of a Chinese release. The 25th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has extended its reign at the top of the box office, where it continues to outperform expectations.
Destin Daniel Cretton’s comic book blockbuster earned in excess of $35 million in its second frame as per Deadline, once again ending up well ahead of early projections, which had it pegged for somewhere in the $30-31 million range. Globally, Shang-Chi now has $258 million in the bank after just ten days, and when you consider Black Widow is currently sitting on $372 million, Scarlett Johansson’s swansong could find itself eclipsed sooner rather than later.
Free Guy is also holding up very well, with Ryan Reynolds’ video game-inspired action comedy topping $75 million in China to bring it up to $277 million worldwide. James Wan’s Malignant debuted in third with a disappointing $5.5 million, but it’s been tough for Warner Bros. to market a movie that’s packed with so many twists and turns they literally can’t say a thing about it without giving the game away.
Looking at the two-week numbers, it wouldn’t be a surprise if one of those mystery MCU projects dated for 2024 turned out to be a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, with the franchise’s newest Avenger proving himself to be a more than worthy addition to the roster.
