(Bloomberg) -- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” a Marvel superhero film, dominated the box office for a third straight weekend, benefiting from few new releases from competing studios.

• The Walt Disney Co. picture took in $21.7 million in sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, researcher Comscore Inc. estimated on Sunday. That missed Boxoffice Pro’s forecast of $23 million. So far the movie has generated $320.6 million in global ticket sales, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.
• “Cry Macho,” a Warner Bros. film by Clint Eastwood, was released on both HBO Max and in theaters this weekend. It brought in $4.5 million, Comscore said. “Copshop,” a movie about a con man starring Gerard Butler, generated $2.3 million in sales in the U.S. and Canada.

Key Insights

• The movie business is still struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic and its delta variant. Studios are putting out far fewer movies than they did before the crisis: Friday-to-Sunday domestic sales for the top 10 films fell 23% from the previous weekend, narrower than the 30% decline forecasted by Boxoffice Pro.
• “Shang-Chi,” the first Marvel film with an Asian lead, is playing only in theaters and won’t be available to streaming customers of Disney+ or for online viewing for another few weeks. Theater executives have lauded this arrangement, and said it contributes to higher ticket sales.
• Cinemas will likely have to wait until Oct. 8 for a major jolt, when the new James Bond film “No Time to Die” from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hits theaters after multiple delays.

Get More

• See the weekend release schedule.
• See Box Office Pro’s long-range forecast.

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