IMAX Corporation broke records at the global box office this weekend as Disney/Marvel Studios' barrier-breaking Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings defied the doubters to score a massive opening.
- The newest Marvel franchise exploded its way to a four-day holiday opening weekend of $13.6 million in the IMAX global network — the best global September and Labor Day weekend opening ever in IMAX.
- North America led the way, where Shang-Chi delivered $8.5 million across 399 screens — good for 9.4% of the film's domestic box office and a strong per screen average of more than $21,000 — and new records for best domestic September and Labor Day Weekend opening ever in IMAX as well.
- Overall, the IMAX global network earned $16.8 million for the weekend — the best global box office weekend ever in September for IMAX and the second-best box office weekend for the company in the pandemic era, behind only the blockbuster 2020 Chinese New Year holiday.
- Internationally, Shang-Chi opened to $5.1M of IMAX box office from 391 screens in 66 countries.
- Six countries set pandemic era opening weekend records, while an additional seven countries had their second-best pandemic era opening weekend, including the UK.
- Overall IMAX weekend box office was bolstered by the continued strong performance of Disney/20th Century's Free Guy in China, which has now grossed $8.7 million on IMAX China screens — a stunning 14.5% of the nationwide total gross on less than 1% of screens.
- The strong performance of Shang-Chi and Free Guy jumpstart a strong fall blockbuster film slate for IMAX, which includes MGM/Sony's No Time To Die and Warner Bros.' Dune — both shot using IMAX cameras — as well as Marvel Studios' The Eternals and Sony's Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was just announced last week for IMAX release.
What they’re saying:
- Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX: "Shattering Labor Day box office records with an origin story new to many fans, 'Shang-Chi' delivers an emphatic statement: people really want to get back to the movies. It's clear that great filmmaking plus an exclusive theatrical release is a winning formula at the box office, and this groundbreaking film has successfully launched an exciting new cinematic journey for Marvel and a strong fall blockbuster slate for the industry."
- Gelfond on recent theatrical releases: "Shang-Chi and Free Guy reveal just how much hybrid distribution and the resulting piracy this year have impacted box office and obscured the pent-up demand among moviegoers for the cinema. Exclusive theatrical releases continue to see bigger openings, better holds, and have now launched two new blockbuster franchises in the past month that fans will enjoy across screens for years to come."
About Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings:
- The story focuses on Shang-Chi’s relationship with his father, who closed him off from the outside world while he trained in the martial arts, only to release him later to do his bidding. Shang-Chi would eventually learn that his father was not the man he thought he was. Now he must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
- Check out Mack’s review of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings here.