COVID-19 continues to have a major impact on box office takings, though Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has proven that there's still money to be made. The Marvel Studios movie remains #1 at the box office for a third weekend, bringing in an impressive $21 million haul.
Prior to the pandemic, the record for the best third weekend for a movie released in September was $29.75 million for IT; the fact that Shang-Chi is so close to that even in current circumstances is impressive, and a sign that the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains a major draw for moviegoers.
By the end of tomorrow, Shang-Chi will have earned around $176.1 million at the North American box office. It's already passed A Quiet Place Part 2's total, while it will soon surpass F9: The Fast Saga.
This puts it at #2 in this pandemic era behind only Black Widow, another Marvel Studios movie. Only two titles have remained at #1 for three consecutive weekends this year, so Shang-Chi joins a club that includes Raya and the Last Dragon and Godzilla vs. Kong.
The movie will likely sit at #1 next weekend, too, as Venom: Let There Be Carnage doesn't arrive until the end of September. Then, there's No Time to Die and Dune, while Eternals obviously won't be too far behind.
Needless to say, it's going to be very interesting to see how the U.S. box office continues to perform, especially as we head deeper into the Fall and then into Winter. Vaccination numbers are on the rise, but as the weather gets colder, we can anticipate COVID cases rising as well, unfortunately.
As always, we'll keep you guys updated as we learn more!
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