Being one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood today, Zendaya is buzzing her way into the box office with her back-to-back blockbusters, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the Dune sequels. Currently, the actress is all over the news, for her recently released steamy sports drama Challengers.
While the film already created quite the buzz ahead of its release, due to the star cast and the steamy sequences, the true testament to Zendaya’s success came as Variety revealed the actress’ salary for Challengers. Bagging an eye-watering sum for her titular role in the film, the actress made her previous salaries from Dune 2 and No Way Home cry in the corner.
Zendaya’s Salary for Her Raunchy Tennis Story, Challengers
Navigating her career from her television debut in Disney’s sitcom Shake It Up as Rocky Blue, to her MCU debut in the Spider-Man movies, Zendaya secured a significant place in Hollywood. Now, every major blockbuster seems to feature the actress in important roles, turning her into one of the most bankable stars in the entertainment industry. The actress recently starred in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two as Chani, alongside a stellar ensemble including Timothée Chalamet.
Following her steady career growth, Zendaya secured a titular role in Luca Guadagnino’s tennis drama, Challengers, as Tashi Duncan. In the movie, she plays a former tennis prodigy caught in a love triangle with her husband Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), and ex-boyfriend Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor). The trailer of the recently released movie provided a glimpse of what we can expect from the film, as it sparked controversies surrounding the wild threesome scenes.
However, despite controversies and curiosity, Zendaya had a massive impact on Challengers, as an actress as well as a producer. And certainly, her paycheck came as a testament to her hard work in the movie. As reported by Variety, chairman of the board of MGM, Kevin Ulrich, being interested in Luca Guadagnino’s story inherited the title and offered Zendaya a $10M paycheck as Challengers’ star and producer.
Zendaya’s Earnings From Dune 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home
Call it a wage hike perhaps, but Zendaya’s Challengers salary came as a shock to her previous paychecks. Take, for example, her last two renowned blockbusters – Dune: Part Two and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the actress’ cumulative salary will still count as less than what she earned for Luca Guadagnino’s raunchy tennis drama.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Zendaya played the role of Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson, the love interest of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man. According to Showbiz Galore, for her role as MJ, the actress reportedly made $2M beside Holland’s estimated $5M salary.
Similarly, for her recurring role as Chani in Denis Villeneuve‘s magnum opus Dune sequels, Zendaya made a lot less compared to her recent Challenges salary. According to Denis Villeneuve Universe, it has been reported that the actress made around $2M for her role as the Fremen warrior, and love interest of Timothée Chalametʼs Paul Atreides, in the 2024 sequel.
Challengers is currently running at your nearest theatre.
