Challengers (film)

''Challengers'' is a 2024 American romantic sports drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes, and stars Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist. The film centers around the love triangle between an injured tennis star turned coach (Zendaya), her low-circuit tennis player ex-boyfriend (O'Connor), and her tennis champion husband (Faist) across thirteen years of their shared relationship, culminating in the latter two's match at the ATP Challenger Tour.

Kuritzkes' screenplay was acquired by MGM in February 2022, with the main cast and Guadagnino hired shortly after; the leads trained for months with former tennis player and coach Brad Gilbert to prepare for their roles. Principal photography began that May and lasted until that June, with filming primarily taking place in Boston. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, who previously worked with Guadagnino on ''Call Me by Your Name'' (2017) and ''Suspiria'' (2018), served as cinematographer.

Delayed from an initial September 2023 release in response to the actors' strike, ''Challengers'' premiered in Sydney on March 26, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios one month later. The film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $94 million worldwide. Provided by Wikipedia