“Challengers,” a tennis-centered drama directed by Luca Guadagnino, premiered on April 22. Starring in the film is Zendaya, who plays Tashi Duncan, a tennis prodigy who had to quit due to a knee injury. The film details the relationship between herself, her husband, Art Donaldson, who is played by Mark Faist, and Art’s best friend and competitor, Patrick Zweig, played by Josh O’Connor.
The film tells the story in different timelines, switching between them as the plot progresses. The audience learns about the opposing players’ backgrounds as they play a final match, which makes for dramatic tension, according to freshman Olivia Kantor.
“I just watched ‘Challengers’ and it was very suspenseful,” Kantor said. “While they were playing their final match, I was literally on the edge of my seat,”
Since the film was so tennis-heavy and it was important for the gameplay to be accurate, Zendaya spent three months preparing and practicing with Brad Gilbert, an ex-professional tennis player, according to IMDb. The star earned $10 million dollars out of the $55 million budget for the film, but the film has already made up for it, earning $56 million worldwide in just a week after its release. Even though having Zendaya star in the film cost almost ⅕ of the budget, her performance well made up for it.
“I thought Zendaya was a main selling point for the movie, I don’t know if I would’ve gone to see it if she hadn’t been in it,” freshman Wren Walton said. “She did a great job and it really seemed like she was a professional tennis player,”
“Challengers” currently has an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 74% audience score, reflecting an overall positive consensus on the film. It is an Amazon Studios MGM release, which means that when it is released for streaming, it will be on Amazon Prime, according to MGM. Although the release date hasn’t been announced yet, fans are excited to stream it from home.
“I really enjoyed ‘Challengers’ and I think some of my friends are going to see it once it comes to Prime,” Kantor said. “Everyone I’ve talked to about it seems really excited, and I think they should be because it’s a riveting film.”
