SHANG-CHI WEEKEND THREAD | NO SPOILERS | 75.38M 3-Day, 94.67M 4-Day. Record for Labor Day! | Tony Leung saved the theater! | Get Vaccinated and Wear a mask.

[Eric Duncan]

EVERYBODY

WAS

KUNG FU

FIGHTING

 

2021 has been an interesting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After dominating the cultural conversation in 2018 and 2019, the MCU has changed quite rapidly. The launch of Disney+, and subsequently Phase 4, has resulted in hit show after hit show for the platform, featuring sitcom subversions, a new Captain America, variant wackiness, and alternate realities, all tying into the new and incoming Multiverse Saga, which looks to take the Infinity Saga and make it bigger and crazier than ever.

 

Meanwhile, the Phase 4 movies have not gone off on the right foot. Black Widow did see a record pandemic opening, but with Premier Access killing its legs, alongside a massive public lawsuit from Scarlett Johannsson and Papa Feige's growing animosity to new Disney CEO Bob Chapek, the MCU has seen a minor, but still concerning misstep within their cultural dominance.

 

The next outing, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is looking strong on the outset. With some badass martial arts violence, fun mysticism, and the epic introduction of Tony Leung to many American audience members, there's a lot to get excited here, even if it won't necessarily be a Captain Marvel-style smash, pandemic or not. However, Shang-Chi finds itself to be a far more important film than anybody would have expected. Not because of the film's implications on the greater MCU, but rather that this film's performance will impact the rest of 2021. I've been throwing this around a lot, but this is the one movie that could change everything for the box office.

 

Papa Feige is now in the same position Papa Nolan was literally one year ago. This Labor Day weekend needs to have MCU fans come out in bulk, because Shang-Chi's performance could very well test the faith of almost every other major film releasing this year. If this is a hit, then Venom, Ghostbusters and Spider-Man will play in multiplexes this holiday season. If not? Then expect a few more delays as studios still try to figure out what to do in this pandemic environment. Top Gun already vacated November, so there is precedent for this stuff. And just as Hurricane Ida savaged the Northeast yesterday, Papa Feige is facing an uphill battle. But if there's one man strong enough to fight the stacked odds, it's Papa Feige himself.

 

So now, let's go into the rules.

 

1. ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS. NOT EVEN SPOILERS POSTED UNDER SPOILER TAGS. This rule is applied to all weekend threads, but it's especially true for this weekend. People bought tickets for this more than a year ago! And sadly, because this pandemic is still a bitch and a half, not everybody will have a chance to see it right away. So please be careful about what you say.

 

This also applies to other movies in theaters and films/shows recently releasing on streaming. So no Candyman spoilers, no Free Guy spoilers, no PAW Patrol spoilers, no What If spoilers, etc. You are free to give general opinions, but try to avoid going into any further detail. If you do spoil something here, you will be banned. No exceptions. Don't be a dick.

 

2. KEEP YOUR AGENDA OUT OF HERE. We get it. Movie theaters are dead forever. Streaming is a disease. Woke critics don't understand real movies. Marvel is the greatest film series ever created. Disney/Marvel is destroying cinema and Kevin Feige/Bob Chapek/Kathleen Kennedy is the spawn of Satan. James Cameron is the true king of the box office. Yadda yadda yadda.

 

There's a time and place for these kinds of statements...actually, there isn't. But at the very least, it doesn't belong here. If you want to start these beefs related to all of these dumb children's movies, go somewhere else. If you do this kind of stuff here, you will be banned. No exceptions. Not gonna name names, but you know who you are. Don't be a dick.

 

3. THE REPORT AND IGNORE BUTTONS ARE YOUR FRIENDS. See a post that’s breaking the rules? DO NOT RESPOND TO IT. Just hit the Report button, give an explanation to the problem, including the context, then hit "Submit". We the mods will determine the post and see if it's breaking the rules and give out repercussions. See a poster that's consistently being annoying? Then just highlight their name and click "Ignore User" on the pop-up. It'll save lives and hopefully cause less of an uproar or infighting. While trolls are already bad, responding to them only makes it worse. So again...Don't be a dick.

 

4. IS OFF-TOPIC DISCUSSION OKAY? Well...yes and no. We want people to stick to box office numbers as best as they can. However, there are plenty of dead periods of time with no new numbers. So off-topic discussions are okay to have at these times, so long as they don't impede numbers discussion. So if there's no action, and you want to rank the Rush Hour movies, talk about boys, or debate about which Wreck-It Ralph movie is better, that's totally fine. Just remember that when the numbers come up to keep those discussions down to a minimum. Keep on doing that, and it becomes a chore for many who just want to know the numbers. Don't. Be. A. Dick.

 

And lastly...

 

6. DON'T BE A DICK. Sometimes things get hostile among users. Whatever the reason may be, if you're not following any of these rules or are straight up not being nice, you're going to get the banhammer smashed onto you. Concern trolling? Banned. Revealing that Tony Leung kills Dumbledore? Banned. Just posting something unpleasant or mean? Banned. And if you're unsure if you can handle being nice for one weekend, then, simply put, get out of here. You probably know what I'm gonna say next.

 

TL;DR. No spoilers, no fanboy wars. Keep it nice, keep it neutral, don't attack others, and you'll be fine. If you don't do this stuff, you'll risk a threadban, a suspension, or even a permanent ban, so tread lightly. Outside of that, just have fun! 

 

And two last things,

 

First off, this thread will likely lean into being more domestic-focused. If you want to know about how Shang-Chi is doing in other countries, look at the International section of the forums here. We also have a thread dedicated to Shang-Chi here.

 

Second, there's no sale this weekend. This kind of came up at the last minute, so there was no time for that. However, while we understand finances are tight for many here, we do encourage people to donate and become premium members if they can. Every dollar helps keep the lights on and with the box office starting to see more and more recovery, these donations will only help make the forum bigger and better than ever once the industry is fully (and hopefully) back in swing.

 

And now...

 

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO

LET'S DO THIS SHIT

[Eric Duncan]

@Cmasterclay Go bananas.

[Cmasterclay]

Well you guys know I'm not much a fan of superhero fandom or the whole cinematic universe craze (fine with plenty of the individual films), but this weekend I'm a full blown MCU stan. Venice and Telluride are happening right now, and there's so many mid-sized adult films like Last Duel, Soho, Dune, and more that I want to see on big screen, not to mention the indies and the Netflix movies they show at my local Gateway theater. But for that to happen, for that wonderful fall to be a reality, we need theaters to be open. We need tentpoles to succeed in order to make the theatrical model viable. If the big movies don't bring in enough money, theaters will close again and everything will be sent to 2022 and streaming. And that would really hurt alot of the joy of life, especially for us vaccinated folks. We need Shang Chi to do 60m three day for things to feel confident enough to stick in their dates. 60m probably means Venom, Ghostbusters, Encanto, and Spider-Man stay, and Halloween doesn't go to Peacock. And if the big releases stay, the medium and small releases stay with them. So if you like any movies in theaters, not just MCU ones but all of them, we need this movie to be a hit. So do your patriotic duty and see Shang Chi this weekend. Or hell, even buy tickets and gift them to a friend in need.

 

And so ends my overdramatic post.

[MrPink]

100 likes and I unleash CJohn's private pics to the world.

[WrathOfHan]

I'M ON A NEW LEVEL

[Madhuvan]

yeah not much happy with last 2 days pre sales. 

8-8.5m are my guess at this point for around 70m 4-day weekend. 

[YM!]

Man, this is basically going to be the forum this weekend:

 

[john2000]

Lets see how it goes

[Last Man Standing]

1 minute ago, YourMother the Edgelord said:

Man, this is basically going to be the forum this weekend:

 

What is this, a meme for ants?!

[grey ghost]

Shang Chi and the 10 Possible Movie Delays

[keysersoze123]

We need a one with hitler video for sure. :-)

[ThomasNicole]

Well i was expecting 8M previews and 60M 3-day since the beginning and everything sugest this will probably happen so i'm pretty confident.

[TwoMisfits]

20 minutes ago, Cmasterclay said:

Well you guys know I'm not much a fan of superhero fandom or the whole cinematic universe craze (fine with plenty of the individual films), but this weekend I'm a full blown MCU stan. Venice and Telluride are happening right now, and there's so many mid-sized adult films like Last Duel, Soho, Dune, and more that I want to see on big screen, not to mention the indies and the Netflix movies they show at my local Gateway theater. But for that to happen, for that wonderful fall to be a reality, we need theaters to be open. We need tentpoles to succeed in order to make the theatrical model viable. If the big movies don't bring in enough money, theaters will close again and everything will be sent to 2022 and streaming. And that would really hurt alot of the joy of life, especially for us vaccinated folks. We need Shang Chi to do 60m three day for things to feel confident enough to stick in their dates. 60m probably means Venom, Ghostbusters, Encanto, and Spider-Man stay, and Halloween doesn't go to Peacock. And if the big releases stay, the medium and small releases stay with them. So if you like any movies in theaters, not just MCU ones but all of them, we need this movie to be a hit. So do your patriotic duty and see Shang Chi this weekend. Or hell, even buy tickets and gift them to a friend in need.

 

And so ends my overdramatic post.

 

Well, I'm not quite so doom and gloom if Shang Chi doesn't hit...and I did my part for theaters, going to 9 movies this summer, including Free Guy this week, so I don't need to just give Disney money if I'm not watching the movie (and with VA's hospital rate still going vertical, I'll be sticking home or outside til it starts sliding the other way:)...

 

I mean, domestic theaters will be open b/c the subscriber bases will float the big three and the lessers with subscriber bases, just like they've done all year.  Will they have shortened weekday schedules or possibly no weekday schedules - yes!  But that's already a reality in many places BEFORE Shang Chi opens, so nothing changes.  It's probably b/c the PT workforce went back to school and there's no incentive for either side (employee or employer) to change things with what's already happened to September and the virus.

 

So, except for Bond moving to 2022, and maybe another tentpole going day and date, nothing changes no matter what the open is, especially in the US.  We've already made our changes.  If anyone needs to buy tickets, it's gonna be those INT folks, who might want to convince Bond it won't bomb with no 50+ in the US and no INT viewers WW...

Edited September 2, 2021 by TwoMisfits

[ThomasNicole]

Just now, TwoMisfits said:

 

Well, I'm not quite so doom and gloom is Shang Chi doesn't hit...and I did my part for theaters, going to 9 movies this summer, including Free Guy this week, so I don't need to just give Disney money if I'm not watching the movie (and with VA's hospital rate still going vertical, I'll be sticking home or outside til it starts sliding the other way:)...

 

I mean, theaters will be open b/c the subscriber bases will float the big three and the lessers with subscriber bases, just like they've done all year.  Will they have shortened weekday schedules or possibly no weekday schedules - yes!  But that's already a reality in many places BEFORE Shang Chi opens, so nothing changes.  It's probably b/c the PT workforce went back to school and there's no incentive for either side (employee or employer) to change things with what's already happened to September and the virus.

 

So, except for Bond moving to 2022, and maybe another tentpole going day and date, nothing changes no matter what the open is, especially in the US.  We've already made our changes.  If anyone needs to buy tickets, it's gonna be those INT folks, who might want to convince Bond it won't bomb with no 50+ in the US and no INT viewers WW...

Bond is not moving. So at worst yeah, probably we'll maybe have to deal with Venom, Eternals and NWH going to 2022.

 

The low and mid budgets movies can easily keeping being released in this environment, is stable enough, there's nothing moving beyond some big movies, and that's a big if considering there's no reason (yet) to expect Shang Chi to underperform.

[grey ghost]

This is the worst time for Ida.

 

Theaters need Shang Chi to break out.

 

The studio's fingers are inching towards the delay button.

[TwoMisfits]

6 minutes ago, ThomasNicole said:

Bond is not moving. So at worst yeah, probably we'll maybe have to deal with Venom, Eternals and NWH going to 2022.

 

The low and mid budgets movies can easily keeping being released in this environment, is stable enough, there's nothing moving beyond some big movies, and that's a big if considering there's no reason (yet) to expect Shang Chi to underperform.

 

See, you all keep saying that...and yet, it's the most obvious move based on its demographic pull (and the October overstuff issue) - it doesn't draw those who are most likely to go to theaters right now, and it does draw everyone who won't...

 

I know it's the closest release - but that makes it even more problematic for its prospects...

 

35% of its audience was 50+ in its last release with its audience aging up 6 more years...

Edited September 2, 2021 by TwoMisfits

[titanic2187]

Why is American's infrastructure in such a bad shape? Ida wasn't even a category 1 when it pass through Northeast. 

[Porthos]

Let's see....

 

One hand:  Ida aftermath with flooding in much of the northeast, Delta still playing havoc, LDW notorious for being poor for movies.

Other hand: West Coast and Canada doing gangbusters, cities with high Asian American communities over-indexing, little to no matinees.

 

Hmmmm...

 

 

[john2000]

Nothing better than a doom and gloom to start the day ...

[grey ghost]

2 minutes ago, titanic2187 said:

Why is American's infrastructure in such a bad shape? Ida wasn't even a category 1 when it pass through Northeast. 

 

Hurricanes hitting the North East seems to be a new thing.

 

I can't remember many cases before Sandy where NYC flooded.