Zendaya's "Challengers" surges from slow start to VOD stardom
How it starts doesn't matter; what matters is how it ends. The spicy sports drama "Challengers" didn't attract much attention during its premiere weekend in theaters. However, positive reviews and viewer recommendations have turned it into one of Poland's blockbusters for the first half 2024. Now, "Challengers" is making waves in the VOD market.
5:01 PM EDT, October 7, 2024
The success of "Challengers" is attributed to positive viewer feedback, emerging stars from the younger generation, and partly to its erotic scenes. The film's love triangle features Zendaya, who needs no introduction ("Euphoria," "Spider-Man," "Dune"), Mike Faist ("West Side Story"), and Josh O’Connor, who won a Golden Globe for his role as young Prince Charles in "The Crown."
The main character in "Challengers" is Tashi (Zendaya), a decorated tennis player whose career is cut short. Unable to live without tennis, she becomes her husband's coach (Faist), a relatively average player who unexpectedly reaches the finals of a prestigious tournament under her guidance. There, he faces his former friend and Tashi's former partner, both on and off the court, Patrick (O’Connor). An exciting game unfolds, both on the court and in life.
As expected in a story about a love triangle, the film includes steamy scenes. Zendaya mentioned in an interview: "We keep saying tennis is the sex in the movie, and I think tennis holds a metaphor for a lot of things: desires, passion, pain, anger, frustration. I think they all use tennis as this way of communicating with each other when they just don’t have the words."
