It’s also far better than Star Wars which Disney bought with its $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012, delivering box office sales of just $6 billion on the five films it produced. It may well determine whether the company can adhere to its carefully choreographed schedule of Marvel stories, intended first to debut in theaters, then expanded on TV. The performance of Shang-Chi will influence how Disney distributes the next Marvel installment, Eternals, due out Nov. Shang-Chi presented a different set of challenges for the filmmakers - knocking down problematic Asian stereotypes in the comic that may explain why China has yet to set a release date.

That strategy also reportedly rankled Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige, who didn’t want to see the film downgraded to home streaming. He has already rankled Hollywood by taking on Scarlet Johansson, one of Marvel’s biggest stars , over compensation tied to the simultaneous theatrical and streaming release of Black Widow, including the contentious decision to disclose her $20 million salary for the role. Keeping that value may be one of the biggest challenges facing Chapek, the former theme park and consumer products executive who took over as CEO last year.

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