LOS ANGELES - Marvel's"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" ruled the domestic box office again, collecting US$35.8 million in its second weekend in theaters.
Box office receipts for"Shang-Chi" appear to be encouraging to Disney, with the studio announcing last week that the rest of its 2021 slate - including Marvel's"Eternals" and Steven Spielberg's adaptation of"West Side Story" - will all screen exclusively in theaters. The news is especially promising to theater operators, because Disney films are routinely among the highest-grossing of the year and most multiplexes in the U.S.
Overseas,"Malignant" made US$6.3 million from 69 international markets for an international total of US$9.5 million and a global tally of US$15.1 million. To put"Malignant's" muted opening weekend ticket sales into perspective, it generated nearly the same amount as"Free Guy," Disney's sci-fi action comedy with Ryan Reynolds, did in its fifth weekend of release. In second place,"Free Guy" pocketed US$5.8 million from 3,650 venues, boosting its domestic tally to US$101.5 million, an impressive sum for an original property.