Zendaya Had A Ridiculously Good Weekend At The Box Office

If there was any doubt at all that Zendaya is one of her generation's biggest A-list stars, this past weekend just squashed it. The actress had a bunch of big hits to her name, including the most recent "Spider-Man" trilogy, but she had yet to have the opportunity to open an original movie with her as the central star. Well, she did just that over the weekend as the R-rated, original tennis drama "Challengers" hit theaters and topped the box office with a $15 million take domestically. Very few non-horror, original movies have broken through in the pandemic era big enough to take the number one spot on the charts. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

While Zendaya's latest was topping the charts, "Dune: Part Two" still found itself in the top ten in its ninth weekend of release. Director Dennis Villeneuve's sequel to 2021's "Dune" added $1.9 million to its ever-growing total domestically, with its running, global total now standing at $704 million. It remains the highest-grossing movie of 2024 overall in addition to being one of the most well-received critically. That's about as good as it gets for a big blockbuster franchise film in Hollywood.

At wildly opposite ends of the spectrum, in both an R-rated original drama and a massive-budget sci-fi tentpole, Zendaya is at the center of it all. There has been much talk about a lack of newer movie stars in Hollywood these days, with many bankable stars such as Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves (with all due respect) not getting any younger. Zendaya now stands out as one of the very few butts-in-seats stars under the age of 30, right alongside her "Dune" co-star Timothee Chalamet. It's rare air. That's why Warner Bros. recently locked Chalamet down with a multi-year deal. Zendaya may soon find herself with similar offers on the table.

Looking over Zendaya's career up to this point, her batting average is downright remarkable. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" ($878 million worldwide) was her first major role in a theatrically released movie following her Disney days. She followed that up with the biopic "The Greatest Showman" ($429 million worldwide), which remains one of the leggiest hits in box office history. The only outright flop in her catalog is 2021's "Space Jam: A New Legacy," which was done a disservice by the pandemic. Even so, that one could hardly be blamed on Zendaya. Let us also not forget that she is one of the primary reasons that HBO's "Euphoria" has become the Emmy-winning monster that it is. That's star power at work.

Post-pandemic, things have only gotten better for Zendaya. From "Dune" becoming an unexpected hit under wildly difficult circumstances, to "Spider-Man: No Way Home" taking in $1.9 billion to become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. Yes, she's starred in a lot of franchise films but just about everything Zendaya attaches her name to finds success. At some point, it's not an accident.

Circling back to "Challengers" specifically, director Luca Guadagnino's latest also pulled in $10 million internationally giving it a $25 million global debut. One imagines that Amazon and MGM are happy with that. The only hitch is that the film carries a sizable $55 million budget. But just like last year's "Air," Amazon isn't counting on this to profit in theaters. They're playing a slightly different game than traditional studios such as Universal and Paramount.

What they get out of the deal is the number one movie in the country with a beloved star at the center of it all that will, in the end, benefit Prime Video. And, all due respect to Zendaya's co-stars Mike Faist ("West Side Story") and Josh O'Connor ("The Crown"), they're not the ones selling a lot of tickets based on their names alone. It's Zendaya on that poster, and there's a good reason for that.

"Challengers" is in theaters now.