By the end of this weekend, the two highest-grossing domestic releases since the beginning of the pandemic will belong to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as if you needed any more evidence that not even a global health crisis can slow down Kevin Feige’s all-conquering juggernaut.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is poised to spend a third week at the top of the box office, which will bring the martial arts blockbuster’s domestic haul up to $175 million, taking it past the $172 million of Fast & Furious 9 and into second place. By comparison, Black Widow has $183 million in the bank, so the MCU’s newest Avenger is almost guaranteed to have snatched the crown by the middle of next week, as per The Wrap.
With no competition for the next couple of weeks until Venom: Let There Be Carnage arrives on October 1st, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is virtually certain to spend a fourth frame at number one, which may also see it become the first movie to cross $200 million domestic since January 2020’s Bad Boys for Life.
Of course, Black Widow scoring a contentious hybrid release on Disney Plus Premier Access is a notable factor, but that doesn’t mean Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings doesn’t deserve its success, with Destin Daniel Cretton’s fantasy epic still boasting some of the strongest critical and audience scores in MCU history on Rotten Tomatoes.