TheQuartering [8/14/2021]

Apparently, Shang-Chi isn’t getting the love Disney wanted.

According to PiratesandPrincesses:

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is looking to open very soft with a meager $35-55M opening weekend, according to current box office projections.

That’s bad for a Marvel movie. Pandemic or not.

And it’s in stark contrast to the media claiming Shang-Chi would make box office history, and could be the next Black Panther just a few short months ago.

For comparison, Black Widow raked in $80 million at the box office and reportedly another $60 million in Disney Plus Premier Access fees. (Of course, now ScarJo is in a nasty lawsuit with Disney over these numbers, but that’s a whole ‘nother issue.)

Shang-Chi, the next movie in Phase 4 of the MCU, was rumored to be pushed back or simultaneously released on Disney Plus Premier Access, but Disney CEO Bob Chapek confirmed yesterday that Disney is still planning a theatrical-only release window.

“We think it’s going to be an interesting experiment for us. It has only a 45-day window,” Chapek said during the Walt Disney Company’s Q3 2021 earnings call.

Without a Chinese release date, it would seem that Disney knows this one is potentially a mulligan and is willing to just take the L.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 will likely be blamed, but Disney refuses to move the movie as Sony has done with Venom 2.

There’s been a palpable lack of interest in both Shang-Chi and The Eternals. Both are based on relatively obscure Marvel comic books that the general public has little knowledge of. And both seem relatively disconnected from the previous Avengers movies, despite Shang-Chi featuring the (proper) Mandarin and Abomination.

Shang-Chi merchandise has been on clearance for weeks, as kids won’t be clamoring for toys of characters they’re not familiar with… like “Marvel’s Katy.”