After an impressive debut in which its initial box office figures turned out to be even higher, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stayed on top on its second weekend.

Grabbing $35.8 million on its sophomore frame, the superhero epic has now amassed an overall domestic total of $145.6 million. Box office analysts cited the $35.8 million take as the highest second-weekend earnings during the COVID-19 health crisis era.

Hollywood watchers hope Shang-Chi’s impressive numbers bode well for more Asian-led productions.

The Marvel movie, featuring a cast led by Simu Liu, Awkwafina, and Tony Leung, and directed and co-written by Asian-American Destin Daniel Cretton, scored a historic Labor Day opening weekend record with a four-day holiday total of $94.7 million.

Disney, which did not release Shang-Chi simultaneously on Disney+, seems motivated by the success of the movie’s theatrical-only initial run. The studio disclosed that its other releases this year, including West Side Story and Eternals, both eagerly awaited, will open exclusively in theaters.

Shawn Levy’s Free Guy collected $5.8 million for a second place finish. Ryan Reynolds’ latest hit film crossed the $100 million mark – $101.8 million, to be exact.

Settling for third place was director James Wan’s horror flick, Malignant, which could only muster $5.5 million on its bow. The dismal box office debut of the film, which is also being streamed on HBO Max, may encourage fewer day-and-date releases and more exclusive theatrical initial runs.

Written by Wan (noted for his Saw and Insidious franchises and for creating The Conjuring Universe), with Akela Cooper and Ingrid Bisu, Malignant stars Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, and George Young.

Another horror movie, Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, followed closely with $4.8 million for a fourth-place rank. Those turnstile receipts added to the $48 million North American total of the film, which features Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.

Taking the fifth spot was Jaume Collet-Serra’s Jungle Cruise, with Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Edgar Ramirez, which is still cruising along nicely with $2.4 million.

Completing the top ten were, in order: PAW Patrol: The Movie ($2.2 million), Don’t Breathe 2 ($1.15 million), Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter with Oscar Isaac which bowed with $1.1 million, Show Me the Father ($700,000) and Black Widow ($282,000).

Overseas, Shang-Chi also emerged as the champ, earning $35.2 million and seizing top slots in many territories, including France, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Germany, South Korea, and Brazil.

This year’s surprise massive hit has now earned $112 million internationally and racked a global tally of $257.6 million.

Overseas IMAX theaters added $8.6 million to Shang-Chi’s $21 million global take-ups in the large screen chain.

Free Guy also held strongly in the overseas market. With its latest weekend gross of $17.3 million, the video game-inspired movie has taken in $174.7 million so far in the international box office scene.

China contributed to the movie’s offshore earnings with $76.3 million so far. The world’s largest movie market still hasn’t scheduled a release date for Shang-Chi.

Candyman and Malignant collected $10.9 million and $6.3 million, respectively, in the overseas market.