Challengers breaks three major Rotten Tomatoes records

Zendaya’s new movie, Challengers, has come bursting out the gate with high praise from critics and an astonishing score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Luca Guadagnino’s sports movie slash sensual drama has already proved to be a hit. Starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, Challengers has hit the spot for many critics, who’ve showered the tennis-led tale of seduction and manipulation with praise.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus is clear. At the time of writing, Challengers is sitting at 96%, making it the highest-rated movie on the platform for Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, and Mike Faist.

For Guadagnino, this overtakes his 2017 romantic drama Call Me by Your Name, which itself is currently at 94%. As for Zendaya, she has two entries above Challengers — Invisible Beauty, a documentary in which she appeared as herself, and Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade. As such, Challengers is her highest-rated feature film.

For Mike Faist — who proved himself as a name to watch after his awe-inspiring take on Riff in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story — Challengers sits above the 95% rating of the biopic Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game.

By all accounts, it’s the must-watch movie of the year. Critics are highlighting Zendaya’s captivating and complex take on Tashi, a tennis superstar who tackles both the disintegration of her career and the vying affections of Art (Faist) and Patrick (O’Connor), as well as the technical and stylistic achievements of Challengers as a whole.

“Anchored by three arresting performances and playfully experimental direction, Challengers is fresh, exhilarating, and energetic,” wrote Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly.

Peter Debruge from Variety wrote: “The plot of “Challengers” might sound stale, and yet, there’s an electric spark to Guadagnino’s approach that elevates the material, rendering it fresh.”

Meanwhile, Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney wrote: “Smart, seductive and bristling with sexual tension, Challengers is arguably Luca Guadagnino’s most purely pleasurable film to date; it’s certainly his lightest and most playful.”

Challengers will be released in theaters on April 26, 2024.