‘Shang-Chi’ tops box office for third consecutive weekend

NEW YORK (AP) – “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is the best box office movie for the third weekend in a row, but the muted reception of Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho” suggests that older moviegoers still aren’t so eager to return to the movies.

Marvel’s “Chang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, raised around $ 21.7 million in ticket sales over the weekend, the studio estimated on Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. release held up in theaters better than most films during the pandemic. Its 37% drop in the third weekend is the best third week take for any Marvel movie.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Marvel’s first Asian superhero film, grossed an estimated $ 320.6 million worldwide. The only problem for “Shang-Chi” so far is the lack of a release date in China, which has not allowed the film to be released in the country, the world’s largest but heavily censored film market.

While “Shang-Chi” only plays in theaters, Warner Bros. released “Cry Macho” simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max – because the studio has all of the 2021 movies. During the pandemic, younger moviegoers were more likely to flock to theaters, and “Cry Macho” audiences were 89% higher at 35, said Warner Bros. The film, which Eastwood directed and stars as a former rodeo star hired to bring a young man back from Mexico, started off with an estimated $ 4.5 million.

Warner Bros., which distributed 44 films with Eastwood for a total of $ 3.8 billion at the box office, only celebrated the 91-year-old director’s latest. “Clint Eastwood is a Warner Bros. institution,” said Toby Emmerich, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, in a statement. To celebrate Eastwood’s 50th anniversary, the studio will re-release six of its films – from “Dirty Harry” to “American Sniper” – in theaters and on HBO Max this fall.

The smooth debut of “Cry Macho” made it possible for Disney’s “Free Guy” with Ryan Reynolds, to take second place in his sixth week of release with $ 5.2 million. It grossed $ 108.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 298 million worldwide.

“Copshop” an action thriller starring Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo, also struggled to make a good impression. The Open Road and Briarcliff version launched with $ 2.3 million.

In limited version, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” by Searchlight Pictures, with Jessica Chastain as the televangelist, debuted in 450 theaters with approximately $ 700,000 in ticket sales. It expands to over 1,000 theaters next week.