'Shang-Chi' leads N.America box office for second week

LOS ANGELES: Disney's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," featuring Marvel's first leading Asian superhero, reigned supreme atop the North American box office for a second week running, taking in $34.7 million, figures showed Monday.

The film -- which stars Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu as a former assassin in the shadow of an evil father (Hong Kong legend Tony Leung) -- has so far earned $144.5 million in US and Canadian theatres, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Bouncing back up to second place was sci-fi comedy "Free Guy" from 20th Century, at $5.8 million. It stars Ryan Reynolds as an everyman bank teller who discovers he's actually a non-player character in a huge video game.

Third place went to one of the week's new films, horror movie "Malignant," which earned $5.4 million.

Industry analyst David A. Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research, called it a "weak opening for a genre that's held up well during the pandemic."

In fourth place was Universal's slasher film "Candyman," a reimagining of the classic 1992 film of the same name. It took in $4.8 million this past weekend, and so far has earned $48 million overall in North America.

Disney's family adventure film "Jungle Cruise" came in at number five, at $2.3 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Paw Patrol: The Movie" ($2.3 million)

"Don't Breathe 2" ($1.2 million)

"The Card Counter" ($1.0 million)

"Show Me the Father" ($700,000)

"Respect" ($511,000)