Zendaya Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios
Zendaya earned $10 million to star in and produce the upcoming movie Challengers, according to a report from Variety.
The film will release in theaters this Friday, April 26, and Zendaya teased that fans can expect a movie that uses tennis as a backdrop to much more.
“It’s a movie, and it’s tennis, but it’s not a tennis movie,” Zendaya told Variety in an article published Wednesday, April 24. “It’s much deeper. Tennis is just a metaphor for a lot of bigger s–t. For power. For codependency. They’re using tennis as their device to get these things out of their system. It’s the only way they know how to communicate.”
Zendaya, 27, plays Tashi Duncan, the movie’s main character, who is a former tennis prodigy that gets caught in a love triangle with husband Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and ex Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor).
Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino, wrapped filming nearly two years ago and was slated to release last September before the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Zendaya is now traveling the world for the film’s press tour, showing off her tennis-inspired style along the way.
The delay and the near-daily headlines Zendaya is making have only added to the hype around the movie.
“I’m glad the movie has been getting its time in the sun,” Faist, 32, said. “It’s been a joy to see people respond to the film.”
Variety also reports that Challengers had a $55 million budget, putting pressure on the film to beat modest expectations in the box office. Though it’s projected to gross between $12 and $15 million this weekend, it is also the only major release on the schedule.
For Zendaya, the movie presented an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone and play an older character.
“I’ve been playing 16-year-olds since I was 16,” the Euphoria star remarked. “So it was nice to play a character that was not a child anymore. It was also interesting playing parts of my life that I haven’t experienced yet: I’ve not gotten married. I’ve not had a child. Those milestones, I don’t necessarily have a direct reference point for. That was different to feel. Ultimately, it felt like the right time for a character like this.”
While on the press tour, Zendaya has been avoiding speculation about a potential third season of Euphoria, telling Variety that she’s not in charge and doesn’t know when or if HBO will continue the series.
Instead, she’s all-in on Challengers — and tennis itself.
“I was not a tennis person before this,” she said. “All I really knew was, like, Serena [Williams] and Roger Federer. So I just threw myself in there. I’ve pretty much seen every video, every match that’s online. It became my thing.”
