Simu Liu Reacts To Shang-Chi’s Huge Opening Weekend

Simu Liu, the star of Marvel’s new superhero movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, has reacted to the film’s big, record-setting weekend at the box office.

He did so by sharing the stock image of himself pointing at a computer screen. “Me laughing at the people who thought we’d flop,” Liu wrote.

Liu was a stock photo model before making it big in acting. His face has appeared in ads on buses and other places, for a variety of products. John Boyega was also a stock photo model before breaking out and becoming a lead in a huge universe of his own–Star Wars.

Liu shared some sharp criticism for Disney after its CEO, Bob, Chapek, said Shang-Chi was an “experiment” of sorts as it relates to its release strategy of coming to theaters exclusively. Some of Disney’s other 2021 films, like Black Widow, played in both cinemas and on Disney+ with Premier Access. “We are not an experiment,” Liu said in response to Chapek’s comments.

“We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year,” he said. “We are the surprise.”

Shang-Chi set a new box office record for Labor Day weekend, and not just during the pandemic, but for all time. It made $90 million over the four-day long weekend, which is well ahead of the $50 million that some predicted it would bring in. Labor Day weekend is historically a very, very slow period for new movies–the previous record-holder was 2007’s Halloween ($30.6 million)–which makes Shang-Chi’s results all the more impressive.

For more, check out GameSpot’s Shang-Chi review and our feature, “Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings Ending Explained: What Does It Mean For Phase 4?”

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