Zendaya’s Hottest Movie Heads To Amazon
Challengers, Zendaya’s latest drama film, finally received a streaming date, and the fans of both tennis and the young actress can watch the upcoming movie starting September 19 on Prime Video. The date was posted on Prime Video, but please note that the dates are sometimes subject to changes and can shift by a day or two.
Playing The Field
Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers follows Tachi Duncan—portrayed by Zendaya—a former tennis prodigy turned coach who is at the center of an athletic and romantic rivalry between talented athletes Art Donaldson, and his best friend, Patrick Zweig—portrayed by Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, respectively. Needless to say, the two vicious competitors are going to fight over more than just a tennis prize in this tennis romance flick.
Get Ready For Awards Season
Challengers premiered in the US theaters on April 26, 2024, before moving to Premium VOD (Video-on-Demand) on May 17 and finally moving to Subscription VOD (SVOD) on July 29. During its theatrical run, Zendaya’s recent movie received plenty of praise from both the critics and the fans, making it a viable contender for the upcoming rewards season. The film’s current 88 percent critics rating (went down from 89 percent) and 73 percent audience rating attest to its quality and its potential to score some awards.
Did Well For A Sports-Centric Adult Drama
The film opened up with $15 million at the domestic box office, and its earnings, at least domestically, have soared up past $50 million. It also made over $44 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $94 million, and some. Though this isn’t bad for a sports romance movie sporting a $55 million price tag, it’s not stellar either, and it will be even less so now that Challengers has made its way into streaming. It’s still unknown just how profitable streaming and VOD deals are, but we guess they won’t bring much in terms of royalties for Zendaya and other actors.
A Bumpy Release
Challengers’ journey to success was a bumpy ride; the movie was originally planned for August 2023 release before it was pushed into September of the same year when it would receive its world premiere at the 80th annual Venice International Film Festival. However, the movie ended up being delayed and pulled out from the festival due to SAG-AFTRA’s strike in 2023.
It eventually premiered in Sydney, Australia, in March this year, followed by premieres in Paris, London, and Los Angeles, with legendary tennis player Venus Williams attending the latter.
Zendaya Has Had A Very Big Year
Zendaya, one of the stars of Challengers, has had a fantastic 2024 professionally and has risen as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young talents, following record-breaking performances in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as Dune Part 1 and Dune Part 2. The latter of the three movies released this year grossed more than $700 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $190 million, while the former (Spider-Man) is still on the top 10 list of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
Those interested in watching Zendaya’s Challengers can purchase the movie on Amazon Prime and AppleTV+ or wait for it to land on Prime Video on September 19.
