Before becoming known for his roles in Kim's Convenience and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Simu Liu was a one-time model for stock photos. Fans have loved these photos since they were uncovered in 2017. Now, the Marvel star is getting in on the fun himself.
As Liu previously revealed on Twitter, he modeled for stock photos back in 2014 for 120 dollars. Now Liu is using the same meme-ified photos to hit back at people, particularly YouTubers, who spent weeks making videos claiming Shang-Chi will be Marvel's first box office flop.
Me laughing at the people who thought we’d flop pic.twitter.com/7UoLqRXlCJ
— Simu Liu (刘思慕) (@SimuLiu) September 6, 2021
Shang-Chi is doing the opposite of flopping, as the movie is setting records and making history. Shang-Chi broke box office records for Labor Day weekend, with a $71.4 million domestic three-day weekend, and Shang-Chi ended the four-day Labor Day weekend with over $90 million in box office receipts. Marvel's latest beat the previous record-holder, 2007's Halloween's 30.6 million by a comfortable margin.
It's the second-best opening weekend since the start of the pandemic, only behind Black Widow and edging past movies like Fast 9.
I don't think there is a bigger glow up than from Shutterstock to @MarvelStudios @SimuLiu 😂👊 pic.twitter.com/kFYv5rrC5V
— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) September 7, 2021
The film is receiving warm critical reception as well. In IGN's Shang-Chi review, we called the movie "great," saying, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings strikes a tricky balance: reflecting the real-life complicated conflict between first-gen Asian American children and the wishes of their immigrant parents while also serving up the dynamic action scenes that the MCU is known for."
Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is showing exclusively in theaters right now and will arrive on Disney+ for all subscribers next month. For more, check out our Shang-Chi after-credits scene explanation. Or, if you want to know more about the character's comic backstory before you see the movie, read IGN's Shang-Chi explainer.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.