LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Disney and Marvel Studios' superhero film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" continued its reign on top of the North American box office for the third weekend in a row with an estimated 21.7 million U.S. dollars, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" has grossed 176.9 million dollars in North America for a massive global total to date of 320.6 million dollars. The theater-only release is the second-highest grossing film in North America so far this year and on its track to overtake its fellow Marvel release "Black Widow," which earned 183.3 million dollars in the region.
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel's first film with an Asian lead and cast.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the film stars Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. The film also stars Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi's friend Katy and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng'er Zhang, Florian Munteanu and Ronny Chieng.
Disney and 20th Century Studios' sci-fi action comedy film "Free Guy" came in second with 5.2 million dollars in its sixth weekend, pushing its North American cume to 108.5 million dollars.
Directed by Shawn Levy, the film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi.
"Free Guy" follows a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it is too late.
Overseas, "Free Guy" took in 8.4 million dollars in 48 markets this weekend. The film has a cume-to-date of 298.3 million dollars worldwide through Sunday, including 556 million yuan (around 86 million dollars) from China.
Warner Bros. Pictures' neo-Western drama film "Cry Macho" opened in third place with 4.51 million dollars this weekend.
Based on the 1975 novel of the same name by N. Richard Nash, 91-year-old Oscar winner Clint Eastwood directed and stars in the drama adventure.
The film stars the veteran Hollywood actor as Mike Milo, a one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who, in 1979, takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man's young son home from Mexico. Forced to take the backroads on their way to Texas, the unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world-weary horseman finds unexpected connections and his own sense of redemption. Enditem