Once again,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringshas earned first place at the domestic box office with an impressive $21 million secured in its third week of release. The latest Marvel installment only fell 39% from its position last weekend, an impressive hold given audiences' weariness in returning to theaters. At the domestic box office,Shang-Chihas now earned $176.9 million, placing it as the second-highest-grossing domestic film of the year behindBlack Widow.
New releases, inClint Eastwood’sCry Machoand theGerard Butler-starringCopshop, struggled to get their footing in their theatrical debuts.Free Guywas able to hold onto second place at the box office, earning $5.2 million. This week marks that film’s sixth week of release, and directorShawn Levyand starRyan Reynoldshave helped the film drum up $108.6 million domestically. The continued success of films likeShang-ChiandFree Guy(though modest in comparison to pre-pandemic box office numbers) keeps proving that audiences will venture out for large-scale blockbuster fare that can’t be viewed at home.
BothShang-ChiandFree Guyhave had little competition in way of other major blockbusters, but that should change with an extremely overstuffed October. The first weekend will see the release of Sony’sVenom: Let There Be Carnage, while in the second weekend of the month, audiences will finally be able to savor the long-delayed 25th installment of theJames Bondfranchise inNo Time to Die. There’s just about something for everyone next month, asDune,The French Dispatch,Halloween Kills,andLast Night in Soho(among several other titles) will all see the light of their release dates. And with a plethora of different release strategies deployed, the fall box office should prove very exciting to watch.
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The Western dramaCry Machowas able to debut in third place with $4.5 million. Eastwood’s latest is available through HBO Max as a film in Warner Bros'. hybrid release strategy. Several of these Warner Bros. films have struggled to make a significant impact at the domestic box office, withCry Machojoining the likes ofMalignant,Reminiscence, and evenThe Suicide Squad. It should be noted thatCry Machodidn’t underperform too significantly, with analysts predicting it could make anywhere from $5 to $7 million.
The rest of the box office top five consisted of holdovers from previous weekends, withNia DaCosta’sCandymanmaintaining the fourth place. The horror film earned $3.5 million in its fourth week of release. Another horror film inJames Wan’sMalignantgathered $2.6 million and the fifth place spot in its second week.Candymanhas thus far made $53 million in North America, whileMalignanthas earned a disappointing $9.8 million against a $40 million budget.
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