Challengers is one of the most highly-anticipated movies hitting the theaters this spring – and it’s living up to the hype! Luca Guadagnino’s tennis drama knocked it out of the park during its opening weekend and served its way to the top of the domestic box office.
Challengers centers on a former tennis protégé Tashi Duncan who turns to coaching after suffering a career-ending injury, helping her husband Art (Mike Faist) rise to prominence and become a Grand Slam champion. They must face the ghosts of their past during a low-level Challenger event, where Art finds himself across the net from his former BFF and Tashi’s ex Patrick (Josh O’Connor).
Challengers topped the box office with $15 million grossed domestically, during a particularly slow week in North America. It also earned $10 million overseas.
These numbers are pretty impressive considering it’s an original film with an R-rating, and its star and producer Zendaya is hoping its success will inspire studios to give more original titles a wide release.
“We need to make more movies like this. It’s kind of scary because this is an original screenplay and those can be difficult to get people out to see. I hope that we can continue to have more variety (in Hollywood) and get people engaged with different kinds of films,” she told US Today.
