Zendaya’s ‘Challengers’ gets surprise streaming release date on Prime Video

In “Challengers,” tennis has never looked this good. Soon you’ll be able to catch Luca Guadagnino’s steamy romantic drama starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor on Prime Video. According to the streamer’s website, “Challengers” is coming to Prime Video on September 19. 

The movie initially made its streaming debut on MGM Plus back in July after its April premiere in theaters set the internet aflame with its messy love triangle. “Challengers” wasn’t included among Amazon’s list of new movies and shows hitting Prime Video and Freevee in September, so its release next week comes as a bit of a surprise. As spotted by Deadline, the date was posted on Prime Video on Wednesday along with the note “Coming to Prime in 8 days,” which would be September 19.

What is ‘Challengers’ about?

In “Challengers,” Zendaya stars as tennis prodigy, Tashi Duncan — that is until a devastating knee injury forces her into early retirement. Back in her heyday, she crosses paths with rising tennis stars and best friends Art Donaldson (Faist) and Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) at a high school tournament. Sparks fly between the three, but Tashi promises to only give her phone number to whoever wins the junior singles final the next day.

Though Patrick prevails, his relationship with Tashi takes a nosedive after a bad fight between them leads him to skip the match that ends up killing her career. Years later, Art and Tashi reconnect and marry, with Tashi becoming his coach. After Art suffers several losses, Tashi signs him up for a low-level tournament to regain his confidence — but she has no way of knowing that the winning match is against his former best friend Patrick, now a failed tennis pro drowning in debt. 

The film opens with the neck-and-neck match between the two former best friends before jumping around to different periods to flesh out all the drama brewing behind Art and Patrick’s big showdown. 

Should you stream ‘Challengers’?

“Challengers” has quickly become one of director Luca Guadagnino’s most successful projects to date. While both Faist and O’Connor have been praised for their excellent performances, critics hail Zendaya as the clear winner of “Challengers,” who gave the kind of star-making performance that catapults careers to new heights. 

The film earned a whopping $15 million at the box office on its opening weekend before going on to earn $47 million domestically. It currently holds an excellent 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Obviously an adult drama like this won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re holding off on “Challengers” because you don’t know a thing about tennis, don’t worry. You can still enjoy this masterful movie even if you’ve never swung a racket in your life. 

Challengers will be available to stream on Prime Video beginning on September 19. It’s available to rent or buy on Prime Video until then.  

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