Marvel Studios Developing Asian Superhero Film ‘Shang-Chi’

LovePop

LovePop

Well-Known Member
I don't care about the early fan reviews - they are always positive and don't necessarily mean much. I am waiting eagerly for the first opening weekend to see if it will top 34 million like Jungle Cruise. That matters because Jungle Cruise cost $200 million, whereas Shang Chi only cost 150 million. So if it does better, that means a lot, especially because Jungle Cruise has well-known lead actors whereas Shang Chi doesn't.

One thing I notice is that Disney is not advertising Shang Chi very much on TV Disney Channels. I saw one short ad yesterday, that's it. It seems like they should be putting ads out by now. When Jungle Cruise was showing, I saw its ad during every single commercial break.

The TV ad of Shang Chi I watched was different from the YouTube trailer, and very odd. It was short, didn't mention what the movie is about at all, and just showed Shang Chi do Kungfu on a bus briefly, and then a girl says to him, "you're so cool," to which he answered, "I am." That's it. The ad does not mention what the movie is about, or who is the villain, or nothing.

Jungle Cruise's TV ad did the same thing. It showed a bunch of action, but in the end, I have no clue what the movie is about or who the bad guy is. It just says, "non-stop action!" "family fun!" I haven't seen the movie, so I wonder if it's admitting that it has no plot, only non-stop action as it claims. Now Shang Chi seems to be the same way: lots of action, no plot, and no villain. Is it going to do as good or better than the Jungle Cruise, especially with Delta on the rise? I'll know in 2 weeks.
 
Jedijax719

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
LovePop said:
I don't care about the early fan reviews - they are always positive and don't necessarily mean much. I am waiting eagerly for the first opening weekend to see if it will top 34 million like Jungle Cruise. That matters because Jungle Cruise cost $200 million, whereas Shang Chi only cost 150 million. So if it does better, that means a lot, especially because Jungle Cruise has well-known lead actors whereas Shang Chi doesn't.

One thing I notice is that Disney is not advertising Shang Chi very much on TV Disney Channels. I saw one short ad yesterday, that's it. It seems like they should be putting ads out by now. When Jungle Cruise was showing, I saw its ad during every single commercial break.

The TV ad of Shang Chi I watched was different from the YouTube trailer, and very odd. It was short, didn't mention what the movie is about at all, and just showed Shang Chi do Kungfu on a bus briefly, and then a girl says to him, "you're so cool," to which he answered, "I am." That's it. The ad does not mention what the movie is about, or who is the villain, or nothing.

Jungle Cruise's TV ad did the same thing. It showed a bunch of action, but in the end, I have no clue what the movie is about or who the bad guy is. It just says, "non-stop action!" "family fun!" I haven't seen the movie, so I wonder if it's admitting that it has no plot, only non-stop action as it claims. Now Shang Chi seems to be the same way: lots of action, no plot, and no villain. Is it going to do as good or better than the Jungle Cruise, especially with Delta on the rise? I'll know in 2 weeks.
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I don't think they ever advertised Black Widow on Disney Channel (that's all my daughter watches lol). But they are for Shang Chi.
 
Kirby86

Kirby86

Well-Known Member
I've seen a few ads here and there for Shang-Chi. I think they're being a little conservative with the marketing budget since they don't know how a theatrical exclusive run is going to do. I think a 40 to 45 million opening is the lowest Disney is comfortable with then hopefully the movie has legs. Jungle Cruise is chugging along and just got a release date in China. That market loves the Rock so I expect Jungle Cruise to do fairly well there. Shang-Chi might not even get a release over there and that will be devastating for the movie box office wise.
 
Jedijax719

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
Kirby86 said:
I've seen a few ads here and there for Shang-Chi. I think they're being a little conservative with the marketing budget since they don't know how a theatrical exclusive run is going to do. I think a 40 to 45 million opening is the lowest Disney is comfortable with then hopefully the movie has legs. Jungle Cruise is chugging along and just got a release date in China. That market loves the Rock so I expect Jungle Cruise to do fairly well there. Shang-Chi might not even get a release over there and that will be devastating for the movie box office wise.
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Yeah it will hurt SC's box office overall. However, it won't hurt the movie theaters here. I'm more concerned about the life of domestic theaters than the total WW box office because, quite frankly, Disney will survive. The theater chains are the ones most vulnerable to everything going on.

And China is only hurting its own industry. People there LOVE Marvel and they are losing a huge chunk, if not the majority, of their industry's revenue by boycotting Marvel. As long as the MCU keeps pushing these great movies out for us to watch. I feel for the Chinese people who want to see these movies though. Such a shame!

And if Jungle Cruise can make $100 million domestically while also on D+, then I think Shang Chi will do quite well. I HOPE it can muster up at least $150 million domestic.
 
Kirby86

Kirby86

Well-Known Member
Jedijax719 said:
Yeah it will hurt SC's box office overall. However, it won't hurt the movie theaters here. I'm more concerned about the life of domestic theaters than the total WW box office because, quite frankly, Disney will survive. The theater chains are the ones most vulnerable to everything going on.

And China is only hurting its own industry. People there LOVE Marvel and they are losing a huge chunk, if not the majority, of their industry's revenue by boycotting Marvel. As long as the MCU keeps pushing these great movies out for us to watch. I feel for the Chinese people who want to see these movies though. Such a shame!

And if Jungle Cruise can make $100 million domestically while also on D+, then I think Shang Chi will do quite well. I HOPE it can muster up at least $150 million domestic.
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150 domestic? I think that's doable since Black Widow is sitting around the 180 million mark. Shang-Chi has almost all of September to itself now that Venom moved.
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
This will probably be my first in theater movie since the pandemic. I expect I won't be alone in that (and if they released it as Premier Access on D+, I'd watch it at home).

I don't know how well it will do. The spike in Covid is obviously going to hurt, but I wouldn't be surprised if it passes BW's opening weekend despite that since due to the lack of an at home option.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Animaniac93-98 said:
When I look at RT for a new release it's about 50ish "top critics" (who are a part of a trusted/credible/long standing news outlet) and 200+ random person with a blog.
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You might prefer Metacritic instead...

www.metacritic.com

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings critic reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com
 
Mouse Trap

Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
My very brief review below, using the spoiler tag just in case someone is trying to avoid.

While the film is an orgin story and does not have nearly the epicness and grandeur of an Endgame or Infinity War, it's one of the stronger origin stories, maybe top 3, with still a lot of heart, wonder and it pushes the boundaries in certain aspects of what we've typically seen in Marvel films. It's a 7.5/10 in my book and worth the price much more-so than Black Widow.
 
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Jedijax719

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
Mouse Trap said:
My very brief review below, using the spoiler tag just in case someone is trying to avoid.

While the film is an orgin story and does not have nearly the epicness and grandeur of an Endgame or Infinity War, it's one of the stronger origin stories, maybe top 3, with still a lot of heart, wonder and it pushes the boundaries in certain aspects of what we've typically seen in Marvel films. It's a 7.5/10 in my book and worth the price much more-so than Black Widow.
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So, if it is
top 3 in origin stories
that would put it right up there with
Iron Man and Black Panther
? That's pretty darn good company!
 
LovePop

LovePop

Well-Known Member
I don't understand how Disney/Marvel could possible let this happen, that China is banning a Marvel movie about Chinese people. Shouldn't Marvel have hired a Chinese critic to have the plot looked over first to see if China would take offense at the story or actors or something else? If Shang Chi has an intrinsic racism problem relating to Fu Manchu, why do they make a movie about him anyway? Why do they have the character leave China for the US, knowing full well that China takes offense at people leaving?

China is a huge market, especially for an American made Chinese movie. To NOT make sure that everything is non-offensive is inexcusable when it costs so little to do so. Just hire a retired censure bureau guy, email him the screenplay and video clips, and get feed back on the movie throughout its production so that the writers, directors etc know enough to avoid any mishaps.
 
LovePop

LovePop

Well-Known Member
doctornick said:
I wouldn't be surprised if it passes BW's opening weekend
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I find the situation very interesting. Will it surpass BW in US, even though Shang Chi is much less well known than BW? Even though the lead character is unknown, whereas ScarJo is the highest paid actress in the US? Even though Shang Chi is a kungfu movie whereas BW is a superhero movie, which normally makes a ton more money than kungfu movies? Even though China-based movies almost never succeed in the US market (whereas US movies often make it big in the China box office)? Even though Disney is advertising Shang Chi minimally, with half the ad showing Ironman and Thor who aren't in the movie at all?

I believe Marvel released the movie ahead of time to critic reviews so as to justify their scant advertising of the movie.

I am not a fan of either superhero or kungfu movies, but I will watch them if they show up on TV for free. I fastforward all the action parts or fight scenes. (Doesn't take me long to watch them).
 
Jedijax719

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
I think that forecasters are settled on a $55-$60 million OW give or take. But the Labor Day holiday will boost its first Monday a bit. It could leg it out to $200 million domestic but I think that a $150-$170 million domestic is more likely.

Again, without COVID, this would have had a July release and $200 million would not be a question with its great reviews.

I'm not ready to go to theaters. Our daughter would need someone to watch her (she does not want to go to these movies) and my in-laws are not vaccinated and are older with medical conditions. So, the cost of a sitter, 2 adult tickets, and refreshments would be WELL over $30. Needless to say, this movie's reviews have prompted me to already plan on doing the October Premier Access. We can wait a month and a half, but I am VERY excited to see it!
 

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