---
title: "Challengers"
year: 2024
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/challengers"
fi1m_id: "challengers"
imdb_id: "tt16426418"
tmdb_id: 937287
wikidata_id: "Q111458251"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 21
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-10-06T10:36:33.552293+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Challengers (2024)

Directed by Luca Guadagnino · 2h 12m · MPA R · Drama, Romance, Sport

## Identity

Challengers

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/challengers
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** challengers
- **IMDb ID:** tt16426418
- **TMDB ID:** 937287
- **Wikidata ID:** Q111458251
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16426418/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/937287, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111458251

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 81 from 21 reviews

*In a sentence:* Thirteen years of foreplay between two men, refereed by a woman who just wants to see some good tennis

> Luca Guadagnino’s tennis love triangle is quick, funny and sharply acted by Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. The score never stops shouting and the last stretch is more style than tennis, but we enjoyed ourselves.

## Synopsis

Tashi Donaldson (Zendaya) was a junior star whose own playing career ended early. Now she coaches her husband Art (Mike Faist), a champion whose form has gone. To get it back she enters him in a small event in New Rochelle, where the final puts him across the net from Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), once his doubles partner and closest friend, now broke and sleeping in his car. Luca Guadagnino’s film, written by Justin Kuritzkes, cuts between that match and the thirteen years before it, back to the night two teenage boys met a girl at a tournament and both wanted her. It runs 132 minutes and carries a 15 certificate.

## Review

Luca Guadagnino’s *Challengers* is a love triangle told as a tennis match. Justin Kuritzkes’s script begins at the final of a small event in New Rochelle, with Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), a fading champion, on one side of the net and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend, on the other. Art’s wife and coach Tashi (Zendaya) sits in the stands. Then the film goes back thirteen years to when all three were teenagers, and for the rest of its 132 minutes editor Marco Costa cuts between the match and the past, the years stamped on the screen. It is quick, funny and well acted, and we recommend it, with one complaint about volume that we will come to.

The three leads are doing different things and all of them work. Zendaya plays Tashi with her arms folded and her jaw set; she watches tennis the way other people watch money, and when she talks about it she is the only person in the film who is not flirting. Faist makes Art decent, anxious and always half a step behind, a man who has won a great deal and does not seem to have enjoyed any of it. O’Connor plays Patrick as someone who has never once been embarrassed, and the film gets most of its laughs from sitting him next to people who are embarrassed on his behalf. An early scene in a hotel room, two boys on a bed either side of a girl who is working out what to do with them, is the best-written thing here. We laughed, and then the scene went quiet, and so did we.

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom shoots the court in hard daylight so every serve throws off sweat, and Guadagnino puts the camera where a camera cannot go: under the court looking up through the surface, or travelling with the ball across the net. It is showing off and we knew it, and we still sat forward. We were exhilarated and a little embarrassed to be. Jonathan Anderson dresses the three in tennis whites and hoodies, plus one T-shirt with a slogan across the chest that the film treats as a plot point, which is a good joke and a fair one. Merissa Lombardo’s production design keeps the New Rochelle event looking as small as it is, so when the film jumps to a stadium in Atlanta in 2019, with Chris Fowler and Mary Joe Fernández on commentary, the drop in Art’s fortunes is plain without a line of dialogue.

Then there is the music. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have written a techno score that thumps at the pace of a rally, and in the matches it is exactly right. The trouble is it does not stop there. It plays over conversations in cars and hotel rooms, and there are conversations here we would have liked to hear. Some of the reviews so far have complained about this and they are right.

The last stretch of the match is where the film gets loudest and loses us. Slow motion, the score at full volume, bodies against the sky, and the tennis stops being tennis. By the third slow-motion serve we were counting the minutes we had left. The thirteen-year structure has a cost too: the same grudge gets explained more than once, from a slightly different angle, and one explanation would have done. Tashi’s life outside the two men is thin. Nada Despotovich, as her mother, has a scene or two, and A.J. Lister, as Lily, hardly registers.

Guadagnino has made sadder films than this and better ones. *Call Me by Your Name* had a summer and a long goodbye; this has a scoreboard. It is also the funniest thing he has made, and the most sure of what its actors can do. He has decided that the tennis is the sex and the sex is the tennis, and for most of two hours he makes that hold.

Watch it with someone who will argue afterwards about which of the three they would have picked. We changed our minds twice before the car park.

*Fi1m score 80, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are largely agreed, and agreed loudly. Most critics find Challengers Luca Guadagnino’s most purely entertaining film, and the praise settles on the same three things: the central trio, the tennis, and the sex, or the promise of it. Zendaya is named most often, usually as the film’s engine, with Josh O’Connor a close second and Mike Faist rarely far behind; several reviews say the chemistry among them carries the picture. The tennis sequences are singled out for inventive camerawork that keeps the matches tense even for viewers who do not care about the sport.

The Reznor and Ross techno score divides opinion: many call it thrilling, while the Evening Standard and Deadline find it intrusive. Deadline also objects to choppy time jumps, and The Ringer thinks the energy is all on the surface. The spread is narrow apart from one outlier: Eye for Film, filing months later, finds the film dragged out and thin on character.

## Straight answers

**Is Challengers worth watching?**

*Challengers* is worth watching, and we scored it 80. Luca Guadagnino's tennis love triangle is quick, funny and sharply acted by Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor, cut between one small final and the thirteen years behind it. Our reservations are a techno score that plays over conversations we wanted to hear, and a last stretch that is more slow motion than tennis.

**How long is Challengers, and what is it rated?**

*Challengers* runs 2h 12m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and romance film.

**Where can I watch Challengers in the US?**

*Challengers* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Challengers, and is it suitable for children?**

*Challengers* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, and it is neither violent nor frightening. It is a sexually frank drama about three adults and their teenage selves, with the film treating the tennis as the sex and the sex as the tennis. It is not for children; older teenagers and adults are its audience.

**How does Challengers compare to Y Tu Mamá También?**

*Challengers* and [*Y Tu Mamá También*](https://film.one/film/y-tu-mama-tambien) both put two boys and a woman in a triangle where the friendship is the real love story, but they are different in kind. Cuarón's road film is sadder and more humane, and Maribel Verdú's older woman sees through the boys in a way Zendaya's Tashi, who watches tennis the way others watch money, never needs to. Guadagnino's is the funnier and louder film; Cuarón's is the one that stays with you.

**What should I watch after Challengers?**

After *Challengers*, try [*Jules et Jim*](https://film.one/film/jules-and-jim) (1962, Fi1m 88): The original two-men-one-woman film, and still the saddest and the lightest on its feet. Then [*Y Tu Mamá También*](https://film.one/film/y-tu-mama-tambien) (2001, Fi1m 87): Two boys, an older woman and a road trip; the friendship is the real love story; and [*Bull Durham*](https://film.one/film/bull-durham) (1988, Fi1m 83): Baseball rather than tennis, but the same idea: the woman in the stands runs the game.

### Reviews we read (30)

- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (4/5/5): The review calls the film a fun, smart and sexy character study powered by strong performances and playful direction. It singles out Josh O’Connor’s charismatic turn as a standout alongside the film’s sharp dialogue and energetic style. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/challengers)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (90/100, inferred): Guadagnino, O'Connor and Zendaya deliver the greatest tennis movie in history with terrific performances and a sexy masterclass in tension. The critic praises the faultless central trio and the director at the top of his game. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/challengers-film-review-zendaya-josh-oconnor-tennis-movie-n6qnctw50)
- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it Guadagnino’s most purely entertaining film, a scintillating mix of romantic triangle and gripping sports drama with playful showmanship. Zendaya is praised as superb and commanding, with the dynamic tennis sequences and score singled out for their intensity and wit. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/challengers-review/5192345.article)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film smart, seductive, and one of Guadagnino’s most pleasurable and playful works, with strong chemistry among the leads driving the love-triangle story intertwined with tennis competition. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/challengers-review-zendaya-josh-oconnor-mike-faist-luca-guadagnino-1235870986/)
- **The New Yorker**, Justin Chang (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the movie irrepressibly entertaining and exuberantly lusty, an amped-up story of a three-way romantic rally in the tennis world. He praises its free-floating horndoggery and stylish rebuke to puritanical mainstream cinema. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/06/challengers-movie-review)
- **The Telegraph** (85/100, inferred): Guadagnino's tennis love triangle is the most purely pleasurable film of the year with sleek bodies, minds and racquet-twanging steaminess. The critic singles out the chemistry and tense tennis sequences for praise. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/challengers-review-zendaya-josh-o-conner-mike-faist/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Amy Nicholson (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as sexy and adrenalized, exposing tennis as rife with sexual frustration through inventive camerawork and excess. She singles out Zendaya’s ferocious, slicing performance as the standout element that cuts through the noise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-04-25/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino-mike-faist-josh-oconnor-tennis)
- **Radio Times** (4/5): The review describes a breezy, sexy tennis drama that benefits from strong performances and inventive match sequences. Zendaya is singled out for one of her most electric roles, though the final act is noted as somewhat indulgent. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/challengers-review-zendaya/)
- **Sight and Sound** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Guadagnino back in strong form with a focused, witty and erotic tennis love triangle that recaptures the yearning of his best work. The film's playful energy and strong performances, especially Zendaya's, keep it entertaining throughout. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/challengers-luca-guadagnino-summons-potent-yearning-his-finest-work-with-hot-heavy-tennis-drama)
- **The Guardian**, Wendy Ide (80/100, inferred): Guadagnino delivers an absurdly sexy, fun tennis romance with power plays and interlocking desires among three leads. The critic singles out Zendaya's star quality and the film's erotic tension for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/apr/28/challengers-review-luca-guadagnino-zendaya-mike-faist-josh-o-connor)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The critic praises the film as wildly enjoyable and electrifying, crediting Guadagnino for delivering two strong movies in one with its sports drama and charged love triangle. Zendaya’s performance is highlighted as a particular strength amid the sweaty, kinetic tennis sequences. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/challengers-review-2024)
- **Empire**, Alex Godfrey: The critic hails the film as horny, hungry and phenomenally exciting filmmaking with exquisitely precise direction, where every tennis moment is rooted in character and the stakes feel life-or-death. It singles out the tactile, physical filmmaking, the three lead performances and the thrilling, mischievous energy of Guadagnino at his peak. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/challengers/)
- **Evening Standard**, Maddy Mussen: The critic finds the film a dizzying, horny ménage à trois tennis drama with stellar performances, particularly Zendaya cementing herself as a leading lady and O’Connor as a spectacularly watchable antagonist, plus creative tennis sequences and a standout threesome scene. The thumping techno score is singled out as the main fault for being overly intrusive. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/challengers-review-film-2024-zendaya-josh-o-connor-mike-faist-b1150897.html)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland: The critic praises the psychosexual tennis drama for its killer central performance from Zendaya as a cocky, self-assured femme fatale driving the power dynamics, with strong supporting turns from Faist and O’Connor. It singles out the homoerotic tension and Zendaya’s invigorating presence while noting the film relies more on implication and desire than explicit sex scenes. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/challengers-review-zendaya-3022366)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic's Pick): The critic finds the film a fizzy, lightly sexy and enjoyable tease centered on a changing love triangle among tennis players. She singles out the three appealing leads and the pleasure of watching attractive people circling one another with desire. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/movies/challengers-review-zendaya-mike-faist-josh-oconnor.html)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith: The critic describes it as a pulsating tale of erotic tension and discord among three tennis players, entertaining throughout with operatic sensuality in key scenes and a virtual grand slam of acting from Zendaya, Faist and especially O’Connor. It notes the stylish, racy makeover of the sport but suggests it might be too heady for some. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/challengers-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (5/5): The critic praises Guadagnino's kinetic, entertaining and horny direction in a tennis movie that's not really about tennis, with spellbinding performances from the leads. The complex, toxic dynamics of the central love triangle and innovative camerawork are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/challengers-review-zendaya-scores-twisted/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Linda Marric (5/5): This is without a doubt the single most exciting movie of the year, a sexy twisted tale with three incredible lead performances and the best-filmed tennis action outside the ATP tour. The euphorically bouncy EDM score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross perfectly complements Guadagnino’s intoxicating direction. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/challengers-review/)
- **Consequence** (A-): Guadagnino delivers a propulsive, captivating story of love and competition through a true love triangle, with a loud techno score, meticulously observed details, and inventive filming of the matches that keeps viewers engaged. [Read](https://consequence.net/2024/04/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino/)
- **Digital Spy**, Mireia Mullor (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the horniest movie of the year and a lustful, exhilarating watch driven by star-making performances, epic slow-motion scenes and a phenomenal soundtrack. Zendaya's nuanced, power-hungry turn as Tashi is singled out for particular praise. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a60524284/challengers-review/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (8/10): The film is one of Guadagnino’s twistiest, most compelling, and nonstop horniest works, a culmination of his talents that blends passion, unpredictability, and character drama into immensely entertaining viewing. [Read](https://collider.com/challengers-movie-review/)
- **NME**, Matthew Turner (4/5): The critic hails the playful, sexy and compelling film as one of the year's best, with sensational performances and off-the-scale chemistry from the three leads. The brilliantly structured screenplay that unfolds like a tennis match and the pulse-pounding score are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/challengers-review-zendaya-tennis-3617067)
- **/Film**, Witney Seibold (7.5/10): Guadagnino spins a pretty simple tale into a skillful 131-minute epic with excellent performances from the cast. Mike Faist stands out as the ambitious Art navigating love and tennis in the shadow of his friend, while the non-linear structure effectively juices the story. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1558459/challengers-review/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (70/100, inferred): Challengers is broad commercial entertainment that thrills and titillates with its hyper-extended love triangle, cheeky homoeroticism, and kinetic style, but remains more about surface-level energy than deeper substance. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2024/04/25/movies/challengers-movie-review-zendaya)
- **Deadline**, Valerie Complex (60/100, inferred): The critic finds it a flawed but deeply human film that explores love, rivalry and personal growth through the tennis metaphor. She praises the sharp character development, O’Connor and Faist’s palpable chemistry, and Zendaya’s compelling presence while complaining about choppy pacing from time jumps and a distracting score. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/04/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino-1235882400/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (15/100, inferred): The whole thing is ludicrously dragged out over 13 years and sitting through it feels like longer, with no real character development despite accurate tennis details. Zendaya handles the age span convincingly but the film offers little depth or engagement beyond surface appeal of its attractive stars. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/challengers-2024-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)
- **Film Stories**, Maria Lattila: Guadagnino delivers his sexiest film yet, a captivating character study of a tangled love triangle elevated by intricate power dynamics and sexual politics. Zendaya dominates the screen with sizzling chemistry alongside O’Connor and Faist, matched by a pounding Reznor/Ross score that the critic feels in their bones. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/challengers-review-zendaya-dominates-the-screen-in-luca-guadagninos-sultry-tennis-drama/)
- **Paste**, Brianna Zigler (8.5): Challengers is a grandiose, propulsive, erotic love triangle that treats tennis matches as outlets for sexual release and power dynamics, buoyed by longing, a pulsing score, and exhilarating performances from its three leads. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/luca-guadagnino/challengers-review)
- **Polygon**, Tasha Robinson: Challengers is a sharp, snappy, and blisteringly sexy sports-and-sex drama that provocatively pushes back against puritanical culture, with creative verve, sensual physicality, and a fun, thrilling watch thanks to its lead performances and direction. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/24127886/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino/)
- **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (A-/B+): Guadagnino flips the love-triangle scenario on its head with a glorious late-’90s thumping techno score that heightens tension in the pivotal tennis matches. The filmmaking is completely ace, delivering a cinematic matchpoint through style, editing and the central performances. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/challengers-review-zendaya-rules-this-love-triangle-20240418/)

## Details

- **Director:** Luca Guadagnino
- **Director:** Luca Guadagnino
- **Writer:** Justin Kuritzkes
- **Cinematography:** Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
- **Editor:** Marco Costa
- **Music:** Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
- **Production design:** Merissa Lombardo
- **Costume design:** Jonathan Anderson
- **Producer:** Amy Pascal, Rachel O'Connor, Luca Guadagnino
- **Cast:** Zendaya as Tashi Donaldson; Mike Faist as Art Donaldson; Josh O'Connor as Patrick Zweig; Darnell Appling as Umpire (New Rochelle Final); Bryan Doo as Art's Physiotherapist; Shane T Harris as Art's Security Guard; Nada Despotovich as Tashi's Mother; Joan Mcshane as Line Judge (New Rochelle Final)
- **Runtime:** 2h 12m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 26 April 2024
- **Genres:** Drama, Romance, Sport
- **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Nominee, 2024); [Films where the soundtrack is the real star](https://film.one/collections/soundtrack-is-the-star.md)
- **Budget:** $55 million
- **Box office:** $94 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2N3hmRmwHQ

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Jules et Jim* (1962), Fi1m 88: The original two-men-one-woman film, and still the saddest and the lightest on its feet. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/jules-and-jim.md)
- *Y Tu Mamá También* (2001), Fi1m 87: Two boys, an older woman and a road trip; the friendship is the real love story. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/y-tu-mama-tambien.md)
- *Match Point* (2005): A tennis coach marries up in London and desire wrecks the arrangement; colder than Guadagnino.
- *Bull Durham* (1988), Fi1m 83: Baseball rather than tennis, but the same idea: the woman in the stands runs the game. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/bull-durham.md)
- *Borg vs McEnroe* (2017): One final, two temperaments, and the sport taken entirely seriously for a change.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/challengers