‘Shang-Chi’ Tops Box Office Again After Pulling In $21 Million In Third Week

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings” continues its reign at the box office after pulling in $21 million in its third week.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic appeared to have not stopped viewers from hitting the cinemas to watch the superhero standalone from Disney and Marvel as “Shang-Chi” continues to rake in the big numbers at the domestic box office in North America, according to Deadline.

The $21 million the film grossed in its third week is now the second-best third weekend result for a September movie release following Warner Bros.’ “It,” which earned $29.75 million in the same period during its theatrical run.

For its second week, the Simu Liu-starrer secured an impressive $35.8 million. And now its total earnings have reached a staggering $175 million to $177 million. It is on its way to outperforming Scarlett Johansson’s “Black Widow,“ which has grossed $183 million so far, as per Variety.

As a theater-only release, “Shang-Chi” is beating expectations. Last week, it had already garnered $257.8 million worldwide. Analysts at the time said the film could surpass the $400 million mark by the end of its cinematic run.

On the other hand, Ryan Reynolds’ “Free Guy” is expected to climb back to the second spot at the domestic box office despite new releases this week after gaining $1.3 million on Friday and an expected $4.9 million overall this weekend. The movie is now in its sixth week in cinemas.

In third place is Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho,” which raked in $1.59 million from the almost 4,000 theaters where it premiered on Friday. The neo-Western drama, which received positive reviews from the likes of The New Yorker, is expected to earn $4.5 million in its first weekend despite simultaneously debuting on HBO Max.

Rounding out the top five are Universal’s slasher flick “Candyman” and James Wan’s horror film “Malignant.” The former is predicted to have a three-day gross of $3.47 million in its fourth week, while the latter is expected to earn $2.5 million this weekend.

“Candyman” is poised to bring its total earnings to $53 million in its fourth week. “Malignant,” which is also streaming on HBO Max, is gearing for an overall gross of $9.6 million.