Simu Liu, star of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, joins this week’s episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast about inclusion and representation in entertainment, to discuss not one, but two closely related themes: the martial artist trope and how it reflects on portrayals of Asian masculinity in pop culture.

“As an Asian man, particularly in showbiz, it almost feels like you only have value if you know martial arts,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Asian title hero tells host and senior editor of diversity and inclusion Rebecca Sun. “Because otherwise there’s a sense of: Why are we watching an Asian person onscreen? What value do they have if not to entertain us in that specific way?”

Liu also discusses how more recent examples of physical strength are finally countering decades of emasculation of Asian men in Western society, but that Asian men should take this chance to create a healthy notion of masculinity. “Why not define masculinity for ourselves in a way that is body-positive for all types and inclusive for all gender norms and sexual preferences, why not celebrate male-male vulnerability, and why not talk about respecting women and uplifting our Asian American sisters and all minority groups?” he says. “If it’s just about abs and looking buff and shredded and trying to outman the men, then I don’t think that’s a conversation that I want to be a part of.”

‘Shang-Chi’ Smashes Labor Day Record with $90M & Best Monday During Pandemic

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” a Marvel film, had a strong Labor Day weekend box office performance. The superhero action film, featuring Canadian actor Simu Liu, had a better-than-expected opening weekend, grossing $90 million in its first four days and establishing a new record for the holiday weekend.

Shang-Chi, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, grossed $75.5 million in its first three days in the United States from 4,300 theaters. The PG-13 film stars Simu Liu as Marvel’s newest hero and is the studio’s first to feature an Asian lead. It received great reviews and a perfect A Cinemascore. Its three-day haul is the second-highest domestic debut of the year, after only Black Widow, which opened to $80.3 million in July, and ahead of Universal’s F9 ($70 million) in late June. Only Universal’s It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019) exceeded Shang-domestic Chi’s opening in September.

With Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” we learnt that Simu Liu is an action star, that Labor Day is a great time to release a blockbuster, and that an exhibition may still outperform its predecessor.

According to EntTelligence, over 7 million individuals watched Shang-Chi over the four-day holiday weekend. The average ticket price for Shang-Chi was $13.72 (pushed by large format and big numbers in NY, LA, and San Fran), $12.63 for Black Widow, and $12.70 for F9.

“Shang-Chi” grossed $56.2 million in major foreign markets such as France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The film has no release date in China, which is a critical market for Marvel films. So far, “Shang-Chi” has grossed $146.2 million worldwide.

Shang-Chi is also on track to gross $90 million over the four-day period, shattering the previous Labor Day weekend record of $30.6 million set by the 2007 Halloween. Shang-Chi also broke the global Labor Day box office record for IMAX, with an estimated $13.2 million. Shang-Chi drew a 61 percent male audience in the United States.

“‘Black Widow’ showed what a Marvel movie can do in pandemic conditions, and that release had the additional burden of a streaming option,” says David A. Gross. “For Marvel, ‘Shang-Chi’ is a creative departure, and at a cost of over $150 million, the results are very good.”

In New York City, Covid vaccination card enforcement is allegedly in place, while in Los Angeles, the City Council prepared a legislation that must first overcome legal barriers before it can be implemented. As a result, New York and Los Angeles accounted for eight of the top 10 theaters for Shang-Chi, with just the AMC San Francisco Metreon and Disney Orlando making the cut. Markets with a high Asian American population, such as San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and Honolulu, outperformed expectations. Asian Americans account up 18% of the viewership. That’s double or more than double the average for recent Marvel films, such as Avengers: Infinity War, which attracted 9% and Black Widow, which drew 7%.

Simultaneous releases and Shang-Chi were hot subjects at CinemaCon last week, with Disney CEO Bob Chapek indicating that the picture will influence the studio’s future distribution strategy. Rolando Rodriguez, leader of the National Association of Theatre Owners, asked theater owners to do whatever they could to help Shang-Chi perform well.

Unlike “Black Widow,” which launched on Disney Plus concurrently, “Shang-Chi” is only available in cinemas for the first 45 days of its release before being available on demand. Disney CEO Bob Chapek described the film’s theater premiere as a “interesting experiment” and said ticket sales will impact plans for future releases, such as “Eternals,” which is set for Nov. 5.

According to Comscore, the entire Labor Day weekend box office was $134.55 million, up 10% from the four-day holiday weekend in 2019. With $161.86 million, the 2013 Labor Day weekend set a new record for all movies. That’s when Lee Daniel’s The Butler, distributed by Weinstein Co., earned $20.2 million in its third weekend, followed by TriStar’s One Direction: This Is Us, which debuted at No. 2 with $18.4 million, and New Line’s We’re the Millers, which debuted at No. 3 with $16.2 million in its fourth weekend.