“Challengers” is getting ready to serve at the box office.
Director Luca Guadagnino’s sexy tennis drama made $1.9 million at the the box office in Thursday previews.
The Amazon MGM film, which stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, is expected to make between $12 million and $15 million in its opening weekend. It’s poised to take the number one spot this weekend and beat A24’s “Civil War,” which has conquered the box office the last two weeks.
The trio of young stars play tennis pros caught in a personal and professional entanglement. Zendaya, who’s coming off the sci-fi blockbuster “Dune: Part Two,” plays Tashi Duncan, a former prodigy who had to retire from tennis after a serious injury. Mike Faist, who played Riff in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” is Art Donaldson, another tennis pro caught in a losing streak who later marries Tashi and is coached by her. And O’Connor, who won an Emmy and Golden Globe for playing young Prince Charles on “The Crown,” is Patrick Zweig, Art’s childhood friend and Tashi’s former lover. The three tennis champs’ careers and love lives cross paths, resulting in some high-stakes sports action and steamy love scenes.
“Challengers” was originally supposed to premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival, but was delayed by the actors strike. It carries a $55 million price tag, so it will need to keep serving at the box office to make a profit.
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Also opening this weekend is Lionsgate’s religious drama “Unsung Hero,” which made $470,000 in Thursday previews and a total $1.67 million in advance screenings. It’s estimated to make between $5 million to $7 million at the box office. Roadside’s “Boy Kills World,” a vengeful action movie starring Bill Skarsgard, is also opening and eyeing a $2 million to $3 million debut.
