The sexy tennis drama “Challengers” served up a victory at the box office this weekend, raking in $15 million in ticket sales. The film, directed by Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor, opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Amazon Studios and MGM, the distributors of the film, expressed their delight at the strong opening weekend numbers, especially considering the challenging audience demographic they were targeting. Women made up 58% of ticket buyers, with 41% falling between the ages of 18 and 24.
A significant portion of the opening weekend grosses came from large format screens, including IMAX, with 55% of audiences citing Zendaya as the reason for their attendance. In fact, Zendaya’s presence at the box office was felt even more with the re-release of “Dune: Part Two” in IMAX, which contributed nearly $2 million to the overall box office.
Meanwhile, in second place at the box office was the faith-based film “Unsung Hero,” which earned $7.8 million from 2,832 locations. The Lionsgate film, based on the true story of the Smallbone family, received a rare A+ CinemaScore and has a perfect 100% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
As the summer movie season kicks off, “Challengers” has set a high bar for the films to come, proving that a compelling story and star power can still draw audiences to theaters.