Shang-Chi himself, Simu Liu, slams Disney CEO Bob Chapek after he said the theatrical release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was an “interesting experiment” during the company’s earnings call on Thursday.
“We are not an experiment,” the actor posted on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
We are not an experiment.
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.
We are the surprise.
I’m fired the f**k up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US. pic.twitter.com/IcyFzh0KIb
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) August 14, 2021
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSjIQxClJlN/
Bob Chapek has seemingly written Shang-Chi off as a “data point” for future theatrical and streaming hybrid release strategies.
“On ‘Shang-Chi,’ we think it’s actually going to be an interesting experiment for us, because it’s got only a 45-day window for us,” Chapek said during the Q3 2021 earnings call. “So the prospect of being able to take a Marvel title to the [streaming] service after going theatrical at 45 days will be yet another data point to inform our actions going forward on our titles.”
With Shang-Chi already projected to underperform at an estimated $35 – $55 million opening weekend, having the boss of your company wave it away as a mere “data point” didn’t sit well with the film’s star.
“We are not an experiment. 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,” Liu wrote on Twitter. “We are the surprise. I’m fired the f**k up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US.”
Ouch.
To be fair, Chapek did say that they expected the box office to be much healthier by Shang-Chi’s release. “That title was planned on being in a much more healthy theatrical environment,” he said during the call.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens theatrically on September 3, 2021.
[Source: Variety]
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