Challengers: A Star-Studded Tennis Drama Breaking Box Office Norms

United States of America
Challengers has become a box office success with $15 million start in the US and $25 million internationally.
Challengers is a tennis drama directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Guadagnino aimed to create an emotionally resonating film despite his ignorance about tennis.
The 10-minute finale game took eight months to produce for energetic competition moments.
The film features a star-studded cast including Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor.
Zendaya plays Tashi, a rising tennis star whose career is waylaid by injury and faces her husband Art's former best friend and boyfriend Patrick in the film.
Challengers: A Star-Studded Tennis Drama Breaking Box Office Norms

In the world of sports dramas, Luca Guadagnino's Challengers has taken the tennis court by storm. With a star-studded cast featuring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor as rival tennis aces locked in a high-stakes love triangle, this film has become a must-watch for audiences. But what makes Challengers stand out from other sports movies? Let's delve into the unique aspects of this film based on various sources.

According to an article in The New York Times, Guadagnino did not want to make a conventional tennis film. He was ignorant about tennis when he started production and aimed to create a movie that would emotionally resonate with viewers by mirroring the characters' dynamic. The 10-minute finale game took eight months to produce, showcasing the painstaking effort put into building energetic competition moments.

Another source, Rottentomatoes.com, reports that Challengers is currently the No. 1 film in the country with a $15 million start and $25 million internationally. Zendaya's first true leading role in this movie has a production cost of $55 million.

The tennis genre is not typically known for box office successes, with few grossing over $20 million. However, Challengers has managed to break these norms and captivate audiences worldwide.

In the film, Zendaya plays Tashi, a rising tennis star whose career is waylaid by injury. She becomes her husband Art's (Mike Faist) coach and faces his former best friend and boyfriend Patrick (Josh O'Connor). The complex love triangle leads to intense psychosexual drama.

Guadagnino's previous film with Zendaya, Dune, did not fare well at the box office. However, Challengers has proven to be a success story for both the director and the cast.

As we explore more about this intriguing movie, it's essential to remember that no single source can provide a complete picture. It's crucial to consider multiple perspectives and cross-reference information from various sources to ensure accuracy and completeness in our reporting.



Confidence

85%

Doubts
  • The article mentions that Guadagnino was ignorant about tennis when he started production but does not provide a source for this claim.
  • The article states that Challengers is currently the No. 1 film in the country, but it does not specify which box office chart this information comes from.

Sources

99%

  • Unique Points
    • Luca Guadagnino did not want to make a conventional tennis film.
    • Guadagnino was ignorant about tennis when he started production.
    • The 10-minute finale game took eight months to produce.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

80%

  • Unique Points
    • Art and Patrick have a long-standing rivalry for Tashi's affection, with Art losing her number after a defeat in their teenage years.
    • Patrick reveals to Art that he and Tashi slept together, leading to Art’s aggressive play during the final match.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (30%)
    The article contains selective reporting as it only reports details that support the ambiguous ending of the movie and does not disclose any sources. The author also uses emotional manipulation by describing the audience's investment in the outcome of the match and Tashi's threat to leave Art if he loses.
    • However, it is unclear who took home the trophy.
    • Tashi tells Art she’ll leave him if he loses the match to Patrick.
  • Fallacies (85%)
    The article contains several informal fallacies and a dichotomous depiction. The author states that 'Challengers has it all: a game of love between three fierce competitors, a time-jumping narrative set across multiple years and a thrilling final match that leaves it all up in the air.' This is an example of an exaggerated claim or hyperbole, which is an informal fallacy. The author also states that 'Here’s everything to know about the Challengers ending, from how the heart-stopping match concludes to what it means for the players going forward.' This statement implies that there is only one way to interpret the ending and that the author's interpretation is definitive, which is a form of false dichotomy or black-or-white thinking. The article also contains several appeals to emotion, such as 'Art is furious with both, but his fury fuels him,' and 'They’ve been all searching for a way and getting it terribly wrong.' These appeals are intended to elicit an emotional response from the reader without providing any logical reasoning or evidence.
    • ][The author] Challengers has it all: a game of love between three fierce competitors, a time-jumping narrative set across multiple years and a thrilling final match that leaves it all up in the air.[/
    • Art is furious with both, but his fury fuels him.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

97%

  • Unique Points
    • Zendaya stars as Tashi in Challengers, a tennis movie where she becomes her husband's coach and faces his former best friend and boyfriend.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

82%

  • Unique Points
    • Luca Guadagnino is an Italian director and screenwriter known for making audiences ‘hot under the collar’ with films like Melissa P., I Am Love, A Bigger Splash, Call Me By Your Name, and Bones and All.
    • Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a sumptuous movie about Marianne and Héloïse’s restrained yet intense romance.
    • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 features the longest-awaited sex scene in literary and movie history between Edward and Bella.
    • Little Children’s laundry room scene is a beautiful moment between Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson.
    • Y Tu Mamá Tambien is a coming-of-age story about two high school friends on a road trip with Luisa, the hot wife of Tenoch’s cousin.
    • Dangerous Beauty features Rufus Sewell, Venice, poetry, Catherine McCormack, and Oliver Platt.
    • Wild Things is remembered for its steamy pool kiss between Neve Campbell and Denise Richards.
    • Jacqueline Bisset joins the mile-high club in the film ‘Rich and Famous’ during a TWA flight landing.
    • Flesh is an erotic masterpiece about downtown hustlers, produced by Andy Warhol.
    • Design for Living is a 1933 film about Miriam Hopkins who can’t decide between two men, Fredric March and Gary Cooper, so they all agree to live together platonically.
    • Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 film about two middle-aged Londoners, Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson, who find themselves sleeping with the same free-spirited younger artist, Murray Head.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (30%)
    The article contains editorializing and selective reporting. The author expresses their personal opinions about the movies being sexy and provides reasons for why they consider them as such. They also quote staff members sharing their thoughts on specific movies, further adding to the editorializing nature of the article. Additionally, not all movies mentioned in the article are directly quoted or described in detail, which constitutes selective reporting.
    • Guadagnino knows how to set a heady scene: His second feature film, 2005’s Melissa P., was a full-on erotic drama,
    • The verdict is in: Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, is a rollicking sports drama, sure, but it’s also simply one of the sexiest movies to hit theaters in a very long time.
    • We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.
  • Fallacies (85%)
    The author makes several appeals to authority by mentioning the critical acclaim and success of various movies. This is not a fallacy as it is simply stating facts about the movies. However, this repetition of such statements could be considered inflammatory rhetoric as it builds up anticipation for the recommended movies. The author also makes use of dichotomous depictions by contrasting 'sexy' and 'rollicking sports drama' in reference to Challengers, implying that these two things cannot coexist. This is not a fallacy but rather a rhetorical device used for emphasis.
    • ][author] We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site. [[/...]] The author mentions earning a commission from affiliate links multiple times throughout the article. This is not a fallacy but it could be considered inflammatory rhetoric as it may give the impression that the author's recommendations are biased due to potential financial gain.
    • The verdict is in: Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, is a rollicking sports drama, sure, but it’s also simply one of the sexiest movies to hit theaters in a very long time.
    • Guadagnino knows how to set a heady scene: His second feature film, 2005’s Melissa P., was a full-on erotic drama, and in the years since then he’s made audiences hot under the collar with the likes of 2009’s I Am Love, 2015’s A Bigger Splash (a riff on Jacques Deray’s La Piscine, from 1969, one of the hottest movies there is), 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, and even his 2022 cannibal road movie Bones and All.
    • Yet the Italian director–screenwriter’s various contributions represent but a drop in the bucket of sexy cinema; the genre, such as it is, has thrived and writhed for about as long as people have gone to the movies.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

99%

  • Unique Points
    • Challengers is the No. 1 film in the country with a $15 million start and $25 million internationally.
    • Zendaya’s first true leading role in Challengers has a production cost of $55 million.
    • Tennis movies are not typically box office successes, with few grossing over $20 million.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication