Weekend Box Office: Shang-Chi Takes Number One, Will Soon Pass Black Widow

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" easily bested the competition at the box office in a quiet weekend for new releases at the box office. Clint Eastwood's "Cry Macho" and Gerard Butler's "Copshop" didn't stand a chance. Marvel's latest will soon pass "Black Widow" at the box office domestically. More than that, the movie continues to assert the strength of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the bankable entity in Hollywood. Let's have a closer look at the numbers.

According to Box Office Mojo, "Shang-Chi" won its third weekend in a row with $21.7 million, dropping just 37.5% compared to last week. Its domestic total now stands at $176.8 million. That means it will pass "Black Widow" ($183.3 million) in a matter of days. "Black Widow" was released in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on the same day. "Shang-Chi" got an exclusive 45-day theatrical release.

It's clear the exclusivity is helping a great deal here. No two ways about it. To that end, Simu Liu's solo debut in the MCU stands at $320.5 million globally. It has sailed past $300 million and should be able to cross the $400 million mark, even without a release in China, by the end of its run. It's a huge win for the Marvel brand and a signal that exclusive theatrical releases likely aren't going by the wayside as we slowly emerge from the pandemic.

This weekend's new releases did not fare as well. Clint Eastwood's new western "Cry Macho" opened to just $4.5 million. Good enough for third place. Not so good for a man with Eastwood's track record. The movie was also released on HBO Max, free to subscribers, which likely didn't help its chances. The reception was also a bit mixed. Be that as it may, Eastwood's return to the western genre after all of these years likely could/should have performed better under different circumstances.

"Copshop," the latest from director Joe Carnahan, faltered in a bad way. The movie earned just $2.3 million on more than 3,000 screens. This, despite the fact that the Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo action flick was met with reasonably solid reviews. While I couldn't track down any budgetary figures for this one, it's safe to say this is not a win. Expect to see it on VOD very soon.

The week's other new release, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," debuted to not-so-great numbers at the specialty box office. Starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield, it earned just $650,000 on 450 screens. We'll see what happens as it rolls out in a wider release.

Ryan Reynolds' "Free Guy" continues to dominate, climbing back into the number two spot with another $5.2 million. It now stands at $298.2 million worldwide and will pass $300 million globally any day now. That sequel Disney wants is starting to make sense. "Candyman" stayed at number four with $3.5 million. It sits at a foreboding $66.6 million worldwide. Director James Wan's "Malignant" rounded out the top five with $2.6 million. It's still a financial flop, but it's at $24.6 million worldwide. International numbers may be able to save this one from being a disaster.