‘Shang-Chi’ Projected $55 Million For Opening Weekend
Marvel has had quite the productive 2021 with the premiere of Black Widow and their dominant Disney+ series; we have news on the expected box office production of their next release as Shang-Chi is projected a $55 million opening weekend.
The MCU has charged forward after the COVID-19 related pandemic shattered the film industry as we know it.
With the outstanding Disney+ series that has been the Studio’s return de force- with Wandavision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, and now Marvel’s What If..?– But Marvel’s most recent film release, Black Widow, also debuting to rave reviews.
Unlike the trajectory and distribution model attributed to Black Widow, The next release of the summer- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings– will not have the benefit of a simultaneous theatrical and digital release.
In an interesting move by Marvel studios, Shang-Chi will not follow the same path as Black Widow, or any of the Walt Disney Studios releases; with nearly every film distributed by the company using the premiere access model that requires a $30 fee for viewing.
comicbook.com first reported the projected opening numbers as found by the box office trackers at Box Office Pro.
According to their methods, Shang-Chi is preparing to open to a box office number somewhere in the range of $34-$55 million domestically; which is a number that falls well short of the $80 million opening weekends for Black Widow.
However, the number would still place Shang-Chi as one of the best performing films of the pandemic; with the number ranking below only Black Widow, and the $70.04 million done by F9.
In his Box office analysis, expert Shawn Robbins writes,
As Disney’s first theatrically exclusvie release of a tentpole film during the late pandemic and mid-vaccine era, this will be a true stress test of where moviegoing sentiment and comfort levels are at heading into the fall season.
Revent moves to mandate vaccination passes in theaters across markets like New York City and Los Angeles could play an integral role in trends throughout the weeks ahead, potentially halping vaccinated moviegoers feel more safe to return.
With Robbin’s tallies that Shang-Chi projects a $55 million opening weekend, factoring in the proposed requirement of vaccination cards at theatres in two of the country’s most populated cities, one has to question if it will be positive or negative for the film.
A section of the audience will absolutely feel much safer in regards to visiting a packed theater, but it also alienates the section of the audience who has chosen not to be vaccinated.
Bob Chapek stated the film was an “interesting experiment,” for the company, as its sole Theatrical release will set the barometer for what the company can expect moving forward; at least until the conclusion of the pandemic related circumstances.
Despite the news surfacing that Shang-Chi projects a $55 million opening weekend, It was the films star, Simu Liu, who assured the Disney Executive that they are not experiments, but will prove to shock the world with their film.
As of now, we can only hope that Liu, and the films incredibly dedicated and passionate cast and crew will deliver a spectacle that will truly bring the world to the theatres, and prove that Shang-Chi can be MArvels next great underdog story.