‘Challengers’ Domestic Box Office Hits a Grand Slam

After co-starring in the blockbuster science-fiction sequel Dune: Part Two some weeks ago, Zendaya is all set to double down on that film’s success with her racy new romantic drama, Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino. Set against the backdrop of a tennis rivalry, and featuring Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist in supporting roles, Challengers is exceeding expectations in its first weekend of release at the domestic box office, and continuing a highly unusual period of success for mid-budget studio movies, following A24’s Civil War from a couple of weeks ago.

Budgeted at a reported $55 million, Challengers generated $6.2 million on Friday, which includes the $1.9 million that it made in Thursday previews. The movie is eyeing a little over $15 million in its first three days of release. Remarkably, 40% of its opening day revenue came from Premium-Large Format and IMAX screens, which is something that you’d expect from a movie like Dune: Part Two, and not a sexy romantic drama. It also earned a healthy B+ CinemaScore from opening day audiences, and currently sits at a “fresh” 88% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. In his review, Collider’s Ross Bonaime called it “one of the twistiest, most compelling, and nonstop horniest films of Guadagnino’s career.”

Another data point worth noting is that Challengersmade around twice as much on opening day as last year’s Anyone But You, the runaway hit romantic comedy starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. That movie legged it to $88 million domestically and $216 million worldwide. Challengers isn’t going to match those numbers, but Amazon MGM Studios is giving it a wider global release than it did last year’s Saltburn. The idea is to generate as much publicity as possible from the film’s theatrical run before it bows on streaming, which is where it’ll find an even larger audience.

Overall Business this Weekend Will Fall Below the $70 Million Mark

Lionsgate is aiming to counter-program with Unsung Hero, the latest in a string of faith-based offerings that have successfully tapped their target audiences and delivered healthy box office results. On the back of an excellent A+ CinemaScore — the same as what Jesus Revolution earned a couple of years ago — Unsung Hero grossed over $3.7 million on opening day, and is looking to gross around $8 million in its first weekend. In February, Ordinary Angels, another faith-based movie that earned an A+ CinemaScore, grossed a little over $6 million in its opening weekend, before concluding its domestic run with slightly under $20 million.

Slipping to number three after two weeks at the top of the charts, writer-director Alex Garland’s dystopian action film Civil War grossed $1.9 million on its third Friday, taking its running domestic total past the $50 million mark. Civil War has broken several A24 records over the course of its run, and is now the studio’s second-biggest domestic release of all time, behind only Everything Everywhere All at Once. The fourth and fifth spots this weekend are going to go to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which generated $1.7 million on Friday and took its domestic total to $176 million, and Abigail, which generated $1.4 million on its second Friday, pushing its domestic total to $15 million. Roadside Attractions’ inventive action film, Boy Kills World, is poised to debut outside the top 10.

Elsewhere, a couple of major re-releases grabbed attention on Friday, after recent success stories such as Shrek 2, and the ongoing Spider-Man re-release festival that has so far generated tremendous attention for the franchise’s first two live-action films. This weekend, Universal celebrated The Mummy’s 25th anniversary in over 1,200 domestic theaters, generating $370,000. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios re-released Ridley Scott’s Alien on its 45th anniversary in over 1,700 theaters, generating $606,000. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Challengers

Follows three players who knew each other when they were teenagers as they compete in a tennis tournament to be the world-famous grand slam winner, and reignite old rivalries on and off the court.

Release Date

April 26, 2024

Cast

Zendaya , Josh O’Connor , Mike Faist

Find Tickets Now