After several delays and months of anticipation, Zendaya’s tennis blockbuster Challengers is finally here. This film demolished the competition during its opening weekend and topped the domestic box office with $15 million, in addition to earning $10 million more overseas.
Directed by the visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, Challengers captures the complicated relationship between a former tennis protégé Tashi Duncan, her husband Art (Mike Faist), and his former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend Patrick (Josh O’Connor).
After a major injury derails Tashi’s own tennis career, she turns to coaching and helps Art become a Grand Slam champion. Once he finds himself in a rut, she decides to sign him up for a low-level Challenger event, but things get tricky when he must face Patrick in the final.
Challengers premiered on April 26 to positive reviews, and it’s serving all the right moves at the box office. It grossed $15 million in North America during its opening weekend, a pretty impressive number for an R-rated original film, in addition to collecting another $10 million in other territories.
Challengers owes its box office success to both its amazing marketing campaign and the lack of competition in theatres this week. It made $6.2 million on its first day alone and scored the highest opening of Zendaya’s career for an original, non-IP film.
