Challengers serves big at the box office
This weekend, moviegoers rewarded the tennis drama Challengers with a box office win. The sensual sports drama starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor premiered at number one after grossing $15 million in ticket sales, box office tracking company Comscore reported Sunday.
The film from Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino was shown in 3,477 theaters across the United States and Canada, with a per-theater average of $4,317 – on a sluggish weekend.
The story revolves around Tashi (Zendaya), a tennis player-turned-coach who transforms her husband Art (Mike Faist) from a poor player to a Grand Slam champion. To break him out of a losing trend, she forces him to compete in a "Challenger" event, which is close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour, where he finds himself competing against Patrick (Josh O'Connor), his former best friend and Tashi's ex-boyfriend, causing tensions to rise on and off court.
The crowd was 58% female, with 41% of moviegoers aged 18 to 24, according to tracking statistics. The ticket buyers were 43 percent Caucasian, 27 percent Hispanic, 17 percent African American, and 9 percent Asian.
Moviegoers rated the picture a "B+" CinemaScore, while critics gave it a good 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film's production cost was stated to be $55 million, plus marketing charges. Comscore said on Sunday that it has earned $10.0 million outside of North America, for a total of $25 million globally.
Zendaya's first main part in a #1 picture came from Amazon Studios and MGM, following her supporting roles in the blockbuster Spider-Man and Dune films.
During the Challengers press tour, the actress garnered numerous headlines for her fashion-forward tennis-themed red carpet ensembles.
The drama is unlikely to make a profit throughout its theatrical run. Still, Kevin Wilson, the chairman of Amazon Studios and MGM's theatrical distribution department, told the Associated Press that a film's box office performance isn't the only indicator of success.
Challengers will face additional competition in May, when the summer film season begins.