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.
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.
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.
Luca Guadagnino’s new sexually charged sports drama Challengers is predicted to win at the U.S. Open. Now that we think about it, the film could also be described as an athletically charged sex drama. S. box office for this weekend. Assuming, of course, that this has been one of the quietest weeks for moviegoing in recent memory; Guadagnino’s film, which stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as the members of a slow-burning ménage à tête, is predicted to gross $15 million in the United States box office. For Guadagnino, whose films—Call Me By Your Name, the 2018 Suspiria remake, and the cannibal romance Bones And All—have never exactly been financial successes, that is, to be sure, a pretty damn good haul. Challengers’ $15 million makes it a goddamned blockbuster by those standards.
It also places it well ahead of a movie that could be seen as its complete opposite in some quarters: the faith-based period drama Unsung Hero, in which nobody seems to fuck anybody over their intense and abiding love of tennis. Filmed by Joel Smallbone, who also plays his own father, the story follows the ascent of the Christian music group the Smallbones. Lionsgate is the distributor of the film. (This may be cruel, but we can’t help but see this as “pulling a Jeffy,” following in the strange father-son lineage that occurred on The Family Circus. We’re getting off topic, though. This weekend, the movie is expected to gross $8 million, exceeding box office projections and adding a minor cherry on top of the growing trend of faith-based cinema.
Thus, all in all, a pretty damn somnambulistic weekend in terms of movies, with Godzilla x Kong, Civil War, and Abigail rounding out the top three.
