Zendaya and “Challengers” game-set-snatch the box office with $15 million debut

Lester Fabian Brathwaite
·1 min read
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With its international total, the Luca Guadgnino flick had a global debut of $25 million.

Zendaya officially graduates to cinematic leading lady with the No. 1 debut of the Luca Guadagnino-directed Challengers.

The tennis three-way tryst debuted domestically with $15 million, as per Comscore, with an additional $10 million from international markets, for a global debut of $25 million.

Niko Tavernise / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Zendaya in 'Challengers'
Niko Tavernise / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Zendaya in 'Challengers'


Starring the mononymous actress as Tashi, a rising tennis star whose career is waylaid by injury only to become a successful coach, turning her mediocre husband Art (Mike Faist) into a champion. But to jolt him out of a recent losing streak, Tashi has him face his former best friend and her former boyfriend Patrick (Josh O'Connor), leading to some serious and seriously entertaining, psychosexual drama.

Meanwhile, Zendaya's other big release this year, Dune: Part Two, surpassed $700 million at the global box office this weekend.

In second place, domestically, the Christian drama Unsung Hero earned $7.75 million, followed by Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, taking in $7.2 million in its fifth week. That brings the fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise, the sequel to 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, to $181.7 million domestically (519.4 million globally).

Fourth place went to A24's Civil War, grossing $7 million in its third week of release, for a domestic cume of $56.2 million ($86.2 million globally). And rounding out the top five at this weekend's box office, the ballerina from vampire hell horror flick Abigail earned $5.3 million, for a domestic total of $18.8 million (28.6 million globally).

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