Challengers served up another No. 1 opening for Zendaya at the domestic box office. The Amazon-MGM’s romance sports drama — starring Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dune: Part Two) as tennis prodigy-turned-coach Tashi Duncan — rallied to earn $15 million over the weekend, the best opening for filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria, Bones and All). The studio reported a $6.2 million Friday, $5m on Saturday, and is expecting $3.78m for Sunday from 3,477 theaters — currently the second-widest release after A24’s Civil War, which fell to fourth place in its third weekend.
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Also starring West Side Story‘s Mike Faist and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor, Challengers lobbed a first place finish over Lionsgate’s For King & Country biopic Unsung Hero ($7.75 million), with Warner Bros.’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire coming in third in its fifth weekend with a mighty $7.2m. Rounding out the top five are Civil War ($7m) andUniversal’s horror-thriller Abigail ($5.25m) in its second weekend.
Challengers follows Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a formertennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologiesfor her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losingstreak (Faist), Tashi’s strategy for herhusband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face offagainst the washed-up Patrick (O’Connor) – hisformer best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts andpresents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself,whatwill it cost to win.
Dune: Part Two — Zendaya’s other #1 opening for the year — dropped to the ninth spot after adding another $1.98m to its $279.7 domestic haul. After opening in fourth place, the Guy Ritchie-directed Ministry of Ungentlemany Warfare fell to sixth with $3.8m, while Kung Fu Panda 4 kicked up another $3.5m for No. 7 in the top 10 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire took in an extra $3.2m in eighth place. At No. 10 is the ultra-violent R-rated action movie Boy Kills World, a Roadside limited release that took in $1.6m from 1,993 theaters.
Luca Guadagnino Challengers is now playing in theaters.
