It should be a cause for celebration that a Luca Guadagnino film is #1 at the box-office, but there’s sadly much more to this story than just nabbing the top spot.
“Challengers” grossed $15 million over the weekend. That’s a weak intake given that the film cost $55 million to produce. Is it possible that Zendaya’s star power might have been slightly exaggerated? This is the first big film she’s carrying, and its weekend gross is indicative of a major lesson to be learned by studios: social media clout does not automatically amount to big box office dollars.
The international numbers were not any better for Guadagnino’s film. “Challengers” only served up $10M on a whopping 6,344 screens in 52 markets. That’s even worse than the U.S. numbers. Reviews in some European countries, including France, were not as glowing as American ones. On France’s AlloCine, a Rotten Tomatoes equivalent, the film only has a 3.3 average score.
Despite the heavy marketing, and being richly reviewed Stateside, Amazon/MGM must probably be wondering, what happened? It’s not hard to figure out. “Challengers” was marketed as a “menage a trois” story when it’s not really that at all. It doesn’t help that the audience for such a film, mid-budget and adult-oriented, is now considered “niche.”
Zendaya’s $10 million payday on the film is also looking more ridiculous by the day. Amazon overpaid the celebrity star. It’s no wonder that much of the hype surrounding “Challengers” seemed to stem from social media, especially Twitter/X.
The B+ CinemaScore is also indicative of a film that might not have much legs in the weeks to come, especially as the summer movie season is about to kickoff next weekend with “The Fall Guy.” It’s come to the point where many projections are veering away from “Challengers” even making back its budget, a below $50 million worldwide final tally is now very much possible.