Shang-Chi Reportedly Had a Lower Budget Than Other Recent Marvel Origin Movies

09/05/2021 06:03 pm EDT

Even at the height of a new COVID-19 variant, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is raking in a massive haul this holiday weekend. Analysts suggest the movie is on its way to a massive opening of $71 million across three days, and a four-day holiday total that could end up around $90 million domestically. Should that be the case, Shang-Chi would nearly triple the previous record set by Rob Zombie's Halloween in 2007. Whatever the case, the accountants at Disney are likely watching the returns with glee because, as it turns out, Shang-Chi has been one of Marvel's most affordable movies to make.

A new report in Toronto's National Post says Marvel Studios ended up spending around $150 million on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, largely thanks in part due to a massive $50 million tax credit given to the production by the government of Australia. At $150M, the Shang-Chi budget rivals that of the first two Thor movies. Only Captain America: The First Avenger, The Incredible Hulk, and both Ant-Man movies have been cheaper to make.

The movie has also been an exceptional hit with both critics and audiences. As of this writing, the film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92-percent Fresh rating. The flick also has an Audience Score of 98-percent positive reviews after 5,000+ reviews have been counted. The positive reception to the movie has already forced Marvel to start thinking about sequel ideas.

"The early reactions to the characters and to [Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings] itself gives me great hope that that people will want to see more of these characters," Feige previously told ComicBook.com. "We certainly have many ideas of where to take them and where to put them. And as exactly as you say, what's so fun, we know the movie's working when it's not just the title character that people ask about, but it is the co0stars or the supporting players that people ask about. And in this movie in particular, that's heartening because we think they're spectacular, and we think they have great potential in the future."

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, which is now in theaters.

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