The good news keeps on coming for both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which has become the first movie since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to spend four consecutive weekends at the top of the domestic box office, and it continues to exceed expectations at every turn.
Going into its fourth frame, the franchise’s 25th installment was projected to bring in an additional $12 million, but the martial arts fantasy blockbuster has once again over-delivered, heading up the charts with $13.3 million as per Variety. Shang-Chi already claimed the pandemic-era record from Black Widow in the middle of the week, and with $196.5 million now in the bank, it’s days away from becoming the first domestic release since Bad Boys for Life to cross $200 million.
Shang-Chi‘s global haul is now sitting on $363 million, so it’s additionally closing in on the $378 million accrued by Scarlett Johansson’s swansong as Natasha Romanoff, but the MCU prequel is estimated to have brought in at least $125 million in Disney Plus Premier Access Sales so Black Widow has technically earned more money.
Musical Dear Evan Hansen limped to a second place debut after being savaged by critics, with the rest of the Top 10 largely rounded out by holdovers. Almost two months later and Free Guy is still in third having become one of the pandemic’s biggest hits, with Candyman in fourth and Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho in fifth. It’s all about Shang-Chi and the Legend and the Ten Rings, though, at least until Friday when Venom: Let There Be Carnage comes along.