NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 On what\u2019s traditionally one of the sleepiest weekends at the movies, the Marvel film \u201cShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u201d smashed the record for Labor\u2026<\/b>
\nBy Jake Coyle| Associated Press NEW YORK \u2014 On what\u2019s traditionally one of the sleepiest weekends at the movies, the Marvel film \u201cShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u201d smashed the record for Labor Day openings with an estimated $71.4 million in ticket sales, giving a box office reeling from the recent coronavirus surge a huge lift heading into the fall season. The Friday-to-Sunday gross for \u201cShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,\u201d Marvel\u2019s first film led by an Asian superhero, ranks as one of the best debuts of the pandemic, trailing only the previous Marvel film, \u201cBlack Widow\u201d ($80.3 million in July). Overseas, it pulled in $56.2 million for a global three-day haul of $127.6 million. Disney anticipates \u201cShang Chi,\u201d made for about $150 million, will add $12.1 million domestically on Monday. The Walt Disney Co. opted to release \u201cShang-Chi\u201d only in theaters where it will have an exclusive 45-day run. Some of the studio\u2019s releases this year, including \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d have premiered day-and-date in theaters and on Disney+ for $30. The strong opening of \u201cShang-Chi\u201d \u2014 forecasts had been closer to $50 million \u2014 was a major relief for Hollywood, which had seen jittery releases the last few weeks during rising COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant. Several upcoming films have recently postponed out of the fall, including Paramount Pictures\u2019 \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d \u201cJackass Forever\u201d and \u201cClifford the Big Red Dog.\u201d Disney\u2019s weekend, though, should lend confidence to upcoming big-budget releases such as the James Bond film \u201cNo Time to Die\u201d from MGM and United Artists Releasing, and Sony Pictures\u2019 \u201cVenom: Let There Be Carnage.\u201d \u201c\u2019Shang-Chi\u2019 is the ultimate confidence-builder for the theatrical movie industry,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. \u201cThis was a very important film. This was the first Marvel movie that\u2019s opened exclusively theatrically since \u2018Spider-Man: Far From Home\u2019 in July 2019. \u2018Shang-Chi\u2019 is a real testament of the power of a theatrical-first strategy to drive huge numbers of moviegoers to the multiplex.\u201d Perhaps nobody was celebrating Sunday more than theater owners. Exhibitors have argued day-and-date releases significantly cannibalize ticket sales. Warner Bros., which is putting all of its 2021 releases simultaneously on HBO Max, has vowed to end the practice next year. Adding to that argument is the continuing strong performance of \u201cFree Guy,\u201d from Disney\u2019s 20th Century Studios. \u201cFree Guy,\u201d contractually obligated to be released only in theaters, has grossed $239.2 million globally. Without an in-home option, the Ryan Reynolds film has held especially strongly; it added $8.7 million in North America over the weekend, good for third place. In China, \u201cFree Guy\u201d has made $57 million in less than two weeks. (\u201cShang-Chi\u201d doesn\u2019t yet have a China release date.) Last week\u2019s top film, the Universal horror remake \u201cCandyman,\u201d slid to second place with $10.5 million. After the holiday weekend, Universal pegs its two-week total at $41.9 million. Still, you could also read a case for streaming in Disney\u2019s figures Sunday. \u201cShang-Chi,\u201d the studio noted, premiered roughly similarly to \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d which debuted with about $160 million globally, but took in an additional $60 million on Disney+ Premier Access. \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d a much more well-known property, launched before the delta variant was widespread in North America. Its release prompted a lawsuit from star Scarlett Johansson, who argued the day-and-date approach breached her contract and deprived her of potential earnings. Disney has said the release complied with Johansson\u2019s contract and called the suit without merit. Disney has so far declined to telegraph its future theatrical intentions, including for its next Marvel movie, \u201cEternals\u201d (due out Nov.5). Bob Chapek, Disney\u2019s chief executive, earlier called the theatrical release of \u201cShang-Chi\u201d \u201can interesting experiment\u201d \u2014 a label that Canadian actor Simu Liu, who plays Shang-Chi took exception with. \u201cWe are not an experiment,\u201d Liu wrote on Twitter. \u201cWe are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year.\u201d At the recent exhibitor convention CinemaCon, where some studios pledged faith in the big screen, Disney didn\u2019t make a presentation and instead simply screened \u201cShang-Chi.\u201d Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the film is based on a relatively little-known comic and features a largely Asian or Asian American cast, including Tony Leung, Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh. Audiences and critics have heartily endorsed it. It has a 92% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and an \u201cA\u201d CinemaScore from moviegoers. The success of \u201cShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u201d came on a typically quiet weekend for Hollywood \u2014 one that would never normally feature the premiere of a new Marvel movie. The previous record over Labor Day weekend was $30.6 million for 2007\u2019s \u201cHalloween.\u201d But the pandemic has upended once-orderly release schedules. \u201cShang-Chi\u201d drove moviegoing overall not to just radically higher levels than the pandemic-marred Labor Day weekend last year, but far above attendance in 2019.<\/p>\n