Box Office: ‘Challengers’ Scores First Place Finish With $15 Million Debut
variety.comBrent Lang Executive Editor Game, set, and now what to make of this match? “Challengers,” a sexy, subversive, R-rated drama set in the world of tennis, easily took first place at a sluggish domestic box office this weekend with a so-so $15.2 million.
On the one hand, it’s a respectable result for an artsy movie aimed at discerning, adult audiences, but what keeps it from being a championship performance is the fact that “Challengers” has a hefty $55 million budget (to say nothing of its marketing costs).
The Amazon MGM Studios release will need strong word-of-mouth if it’s going to keep rallying — and next week brings Universal’s “The Fall Guy,” a Ryan Reynolds and Emily Blunt action-comedy that marks the unofficial start of summer blockbuster season.
The competition only stands to get more difficult from here. Amazon MGM would probably argue that “Challengers” doesn’t need to be a box office phenomenon in order to be successful.
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