The sexy tennis drama “ Challengers ” won the box office this weekend with $15 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Zendaya and castmates Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino's original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Ticket sales from large format screens, including IMAX, made up about 40% of the opening weekend grosses. According to PostTrak exit poll reported by Deadline, 55% of audiences said they went to see the film because of Zendaya. In fact, this weekend, Zendaya movies accounted for around 26% of the overall box office with the re-release of “ Dune: Part Two ” in IMAX.
The 27-year-old actor has been part of some of the most successful franchises of the last few years, including the “Spider-Man” and “Dune” movies. In both cases those were supporting roles in massive brand-name properties, but her eye-catching red carpet looks also often make headlines. “Challengers” would be the first real test of her ability to “open” a film on her own star and MGM and Amazon were not going to risk doing it without her.