The Walt Disney Co opted to release Shang-Chi only in theaters where it will have an exclusive 45-day run.
Shang-Chi drove moviegoing overall not to just radically higher levels than the pandemic-marred Labor Day weekend last year, but far above attendance in 2019.
The previous record over Labor Day weekend was $30.6m for 2007’s Halloween.
The Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings smashed the record for Labor Day openings with an estimated $71.4m in ticket sales on what’s traditionally one of America’s sleepiest weekends at the movies, giving a box office reeling from the recent coronavirus surge a huge lift heading into the fall season.