Zendaya Has Made Eight Figures as a ‘Challengers’ Star and Producer: Report

Zendaya earned $10 million to star in and produce the upcoming film challengeraccording to a report by diversity.

The film will hit theaters this Friday, April 26, and Zendaya teased that fans can expect a film that uses tennis as a backdrop for a lot more.

“It’s a movie and it’s tennis, but it’s not a tennis movie,” Zendaya said diversity in an article published on Wednesday, April 24. “It goes much deeper than that. Tennis is just a metaphor for something much bigger. For power. For codependency. They use tennis as a tool to get these things out of their system. That’s the only way they know how to communicate.”

Zendaya, 27, plays Tashi Duncan, the film’s main character, a former tennis prodigy who finds herself in a love triangle with husband Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and ex Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor).

challengerleaded by Luca Guadagnino“The Movie” wrapped filming nearly two years ago and was scheduled to hit theaters last September ahead of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Zendaya is now traveling the world for the film’s press tour, showing off her tennis-inspired style.

The delay and the almost daily headlines Zendaya is making have only added to the hype surrounding the film.

“I’m glad the film is having its time in the sun,” said Faist, 32. “It was a joy to see how people responded to the film.”

diversity reports that too challenger had a budget of $55 million, which put pressure on the film to exceed modest box office expectations. While this weekend’s grosses are expected to be between $12 million and $15 million, it’s also the only major release on the schedule.

For Zendaya, the film was an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone and play an older character.

“I’ve been playing against 16-year-olds since I was 16,” he said euphoria Stern remarked. “So it was nice to play a character who wasn’t a child anymore. It was also interesting to play parts of my life that I haven’t experienced yet: I didn’t get married. I didn’t have a child. I don’t necessarily have a direct point of reference for these milestones. This felt different. Ultimately, it seemed like the right time for a character like this.”

During the press tour, Zendaya avoided speculation about a possible third season of euphoriatell diversity that she’s not in charge and doesn’t know when or if HBO will continue the series.

Instead, she goes all in challenger – and tennis itself.

“I wasn’t a tennis player before,” she said. “All I really knew was, Serena [Williams] And Roger Federer. So I just threw myself into it. I’ve seen pretty much every video, every game that’s online. It became my thing.”