“Challengers” and “Dune: Part Two” have something in common besides Zendaya: both movies were originally supposed to release in the latter half of 2023, but were delayed in response to the actors strike. Those two commonalities aren’t disconnected, but speak to Zendaya’s growing star power, since the strike would have meant her absence from the red carpet and all other promotion for both movies if they’d kept their original release dates.
“Dune” director Denis Villeneuve has said that he believes his film’s leads (including Timothée Chalamet, who starred in Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” and “Bones and All”) will be the “new power in Hollywood” — and so far, they’re proving him right. This is part of a greater shift away from the franchise power that has dominated the box office for the past decade or so, with studios hiring lesser-known (i.e. cheaper) actors to lead their big IP movies, and back towards an old school Hollywood status quo where the names on the poster can make or break the box office.
For her part, Zendaya has been working hard to promote “Challengers.” In the lead-up to the film’s release she appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” “Live with Kelly and Mark,” “Good Morning America,” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” She was also on the cover of Vogue, with an accompanying interview where “Challengers” is discussed in depth. With a $55 million budget (per Variety), “Challengers” will need strong legs and a solid overseas performance to carry it to box office success, but this is probably the best start it could have hoped for.
