Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is looking to open very soft with a meager $35-55M opening weekend, according to current box office projections.
That’s bad for a Marvel movie. Pandemic or not.
And it’s in stark contrast to the media claiming Shang-Chi would make box office history, and could be the next Black Panther just a few short months ago.
For comparison, Black Widow raked in $80 million at the box office and reportedly another $60 million in Disney Plus Premier Access fees. (Of course, now ScarJo is in a nasty lawsuit with Disney over these numbers, but that’s a whole ‘nother issue.)
Shang-Chi, the next movie in Phase 4 of the MCU, was rumored to be pushed back or simultaneously released on Disney Plus Premier Access, but Disney CEO Bob Chapek confirmed yesterday that Disney is still planning a theatrical-only release window.
“We think it’s going to be an interesting experiment for us. It has only a 45-day window,” Chapek said during the Walt Disney Company’s Q3 2021 earnings call.
Without a Chinese release date, it would seem that Disney knows this one is potentially a mulligan and is willing to just take the L.
The Delta variant of COVID-19 will likely be blamed, but Disney refuses to move the movie as Sony has done with Venom 2.
There’s been a palpable lack of interest in both Shang-Chi and The Eternals. Both are based on relatively obscure Marvel comic books that the general public has little knowledge of. And both seem relatively disconnected from the previous Avengers movies, despite Shang-Chi featuring the (proper) Mandarin and Abomination.
Shang-Chi merchandise has been on clearance for weeks, as kids won’t be clamoring for toys of characters they’re not familiar with… like “Marvel’s Katy.”
It would seem that Shang-Chi is destined to perform slightly better than Warner Bros. recent release The Suicide Squad, which only turned up about $26 million at the box office last weekend against a $185 million budget.
The difference is, the movie simultaneously premiered on HBO Max. Shang-Chi isn’t even getting a streaming release for 45 days.
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to be a mixed bag. So far the movies have been underwhelming, but the Disney Plus series are proving to be fairly popular.
I mean, people are actually excited for Moon Knight.
Avengers: Endgame might’ve signaled the end of Marvel movies being a must-see event.
Maybe, like Star Wars, the future of Marvel is on TV and not on the big screen?
[Source: Murphy’s Multiverse]
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