All eyes are on Marvel Studios’ venture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history with indie darling Chloé Zhao‘s attempt at a grounded epic about eternal beings. After its initial critical reception ending up as the studio’s first rotten scored film on Rotten Tomatoes, it made many wonders what it means for the film’s box office performance. In a way, there’s the discussion if the Marvel brand can sustain its position at the box office even if hit by a mixed reception, and the star-power of the project.
Luckily, as we’re about to enter the weekend we got a glimpse at its performance through its initial Thursday previews. Box office analyst Charlie Jatinder shared his findings that offer a better understanding of where the film is currently heading. The latest predictions had it at a strong $150M worldwide opening, but it’s looking like it might pass them if it keeps up the momentum going into the weekend. As of now, it earned $9.5M in Thursday previews through the US and Canada. So, it’s now nearing an $85M with its international release following the same trend currently.
As Deadline points it, it currently is the third-best earner in its Thursday previews. Currently, Black Widow holds the top spot with $13.2M followed by Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s $11.6M. The latter went on to surpass the former’s overall opening weekend. So, the big showcase will be how the film holds over going into Saturday. Shang-Chi earned $8.8M in its previews and the latest release is ahead of pre-pandemic releases of Doctor Strange and Thor: The Dark World. Overall reception is at 86% with audiences which is a far cry from its current 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.
