Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hit theaters around the world Friday, Sep. 3, 2021. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The film grossed over 53 million dollars internationally and domestically from ticket sales and broke the Labor Day weekend box office numbers.
Shang-Chi is Marvel’s first film in over two years to debut in theaters exclusively. The film is projected to have an exclusive 45-day theatrical release in lieu of the recent lawsuit Marvel faced with the star of Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson. With the Disney streaming service gaining traffic during the pandemic, Marvel Studios, as well as many Disney affiliates, released new films and shows on their streaming service as well as theaters. Marvel’s television series Wandavision, Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well as the movie Black Widow premiered on the app. Because of this, Black Widow lost money in box office numbers and revenue because of the double release.
Marvel’s first Asian superhero Shang-Chi, acted by Simu Liu, intrigued audiences, and the stride for inclusivity resonated for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Liu reveals that in the summer of 2014 he sent out a joking tweet asking Marvel, “When will there be an Asian American superhero?” Seven years later, the Canadian actor and stuntman hit the big screens making history for the MCU franchise.
With a cast that includes Hong Kong actor icon Tony Leung and actress Awkwafina, known for her appearances on MTV’s Girl Code, Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians, this film was bound for success. Action-packed from the beginning, Shang-Chi was a visually invigorating film.
Less than half an hour in, Shang-Chi is encountered by bandits trying to attack him on a bus. Trained as a skilled killer at a young age by his father, the most dangerous man in the world, Shang-Chi’s training emerged. The film follows the quest Shang-Chi has to fight against his father to save the world, save his late mother’s village, and eventually, find his true self.
During the movie, there were many characters that appeared from other Marvel movies such as Wong from Dr. Strange, Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3, Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner (Hulk). This film connects to upcoming films Spiderman: No Way Home movie and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
In true MCU fashion, the film showcased two post-credit scenes. So make sure to stay seated until the very last scene.
Shang-Chi is the second MCU Phase 4 movie that has been released and fans can expect to see Spiderman: No Way Home and The Eternals before the year ends. In the meantime, Shang-Chi and Black Widow are great movies to see to gain insight into the future of MCU.
