Zendaya’s ‘Challengers’ Makes Quick Debut On Digital Streaming

Challengers—Zendaya’s provocative romantic drama set amid a high-stakes tennis match—is new on digital streaming.

The film is making a quick leap from theaters to digital streaming via premium video on demand. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, Challengers opened in theaters on April 26 and scored a No. 1 finish at the domestic box office in its opening weekend with $15 million in domestic ticket sales.

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According to box officer tracker The Numbers, Challengers to date has made $40.5 million domestically and $30.7 million internationally for a combined worldwide tally of $71.3 million against a $55 million production budget.

Unlike most PVOD titles, Challengers is currently only available as a rental title with no option to purchase it. As such, the film can be rented for $19.99 on such digital platforms as Prime Video, AppleTV+ and Fandango at Home, aka VUDU.

With digital rentals, viewers generally have 48 hours to watch the film once they start it.

What Is ‘Challengers’ About?

Zendaya stars in Challengers as Tashi Duncan, a college tennis player destined for a lucrative professional career until a devastating knee injury ends her career before it begins.

The film begins in 2019 with a crucial tennis match between close friends-turned-bitter rivals Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). As the story unfolds, the action hops back and forth from 2019 to 2006—and several pivotal moments in-between—as a love triangle between Tashi, Patrick and Art develops.

As such, it’s revealed that Patrick and Mike’s rivalry began when the former doubles partners vied for Tashi’s love when they first met her 13 years before.

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Tashi, meanwhile, lives vicariously through the professional success of Art, whose career excelled while Patrick’s life and career went nowhere because he refused to grow up and take responsibility for his carefree ways.

Zendaya’s Challengers scored big with critics, which ultimately earned a “fresh” 89% rating on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes based on 314 reviews. Moviegoers weren’t as enthusiastic as critics, however, on RT, giving it a positive 73% Audience Score based on 500-plus verified ratings.

Challengers marked the second hit movie for Zendaya in 2024. In March, the actor reprised her role of the Fremen warrior Chani in Dune: Part Two, which, per The Numbers, went on to earn $710.6 million at the worldwide box office against a $190 million budget.

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