![]() On Friday, Disney committed to showing the remainder of its 2021 films-including Eternals, West Side Story, and The Last Duel-exclusively in theaters for several weeks before they hit streaming. Hollywood seemed relieved to see a movie do so well without an online viewing platform and responded swiftly: Sony Pictures moved up the release date of Venom: Let There Be Carnage by two weeks. The film earned $94 million domestically over its opening weekend, breaking the box-office record for a Labor Day release. For him, Chapek’s words reinforced the rumors that his film would be Marvel’s first failure. Even a positive review began by referring to Liu’s character as “Shang-who?” In light of such framing, the obvious insinuation to Liu was that the film was doomed to alienate audiences not only because it would be available exclusively in theaters for 45 days, but also because it had a predominantly Asian, newcomer-heavy cast. ![]() Some fans were convinced that Marvel was marketing this film less than previous ones because of its obscure protagonist. Despite the film’s healthy box-office projections, the media narrative about Shang-Chi in the weeks preceding its premiere positioned it as a gamble for Hollywood’s biggest franchise: Industry pundits cited the pandemic’s effects on ticket sales and the fact that Labor Day weekend is typically sleepy for theaters. That Liu bristled at the executive’s remarks is understandable. Simu Liu, who plays Shang-Chi, responded on social media: “We are not an experiment … We are the surprise.” Bob Chapek, Disney's CEO, had described the film as an “interesting experiment,” given that it would be the company’s first franchise title since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to hit theaters without simultaneously streaming on Disney+. Three weeks before the release of Marvel’s latest superhero movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the lead actor and the distributor seemed poised for their own showdown.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |