Luca Guadagnino’s new sexually charged sports drama Challengers—which might also, now that we think of it, be described as an athletically charged sex drama—is expected to triumph at the U.S. box office this weekend. That is , admittedly, with the caveat that this has been one of the sleepiest weeks at movie theaters in recent memory; Guadagnino’s film, which stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as the members of a slow-burning ménage a topspin, is expected to bring in $15 million at the domestic box office. That is, admittedly, a pretty damn good haul for Guadagnino’s whose films—Call Me By Your Name, the 2018 Suspiria remake, cannibal romance Bones And All—have never exactly been fiscal high-fliers. By those standards, Challengers’ $15 million makes it a goddamned blockbuster.
It also puts it well ahead of a film that might be viewed, in some lights, as its polar opposite: Faith-based period drama Unsung Hero, in which, as far as we can tell, nobody fucks anybody over their deep and passionate love of tennis. Distributed by Lionsgate, the film follows the rise of Christian music family the Smallbones, with Joel Smallbone not only co-writing and directing, but also playing his own father. (This is maybe mean, but we can’t help of thinking of this as “pulling a Jeffy,” in the tradition of the weird father-son succession that happened on The Family Circus. But we digress.) The film is projected to bring in $8 million this weekend, out-performing expectations, and putting another small feather in the cap of the faith-based filmmaking movement.
So, yeah: A pretty damn somnambulistic weekend, movie-wise, with the rest of the top rankings going to repeat offenders Godzilla x Kong, Civil War, and Abigail.
Laura Davis is an entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Broadway, she offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
