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| image courtesy Marvel |
With little to no competition over the holiday weekend, the latest MCU film appears to be doing a great box office just from its opening night. Thursday night screenings were packed and out performed all expectations. The newest Phase 4 film will be exclusively in cinemas for a short 45 day window before heading to streaming. It's first night in theaters has proven to be another success for Disney as it took in over $8.8 million, out performing F9's first night total of $7.1 million. This is a good sign even as the pandemic keeps many people home and away from the box office.
Shang-Chi was initially expected to gross somewhere around $45 million over the holiday weekend but might end up doing quite a bit more. While it's not expected to beat Black Widow's $80 million opening weekend, it looks like it might end up beating F9's $70 million first few days of release.
No matter what, this further proves that the Marvel cinematic universe still has legs. Although Black Widow saw a sharp decline, it did not have the positive momentum and the excellent reviews that Shang-Chi does. Interest is very high around this release and people may be looking for an escape over the long holiday weekend. It is now looking to take the highest ever Labor Day opening.
-CG