Sydney Sweeney vs. Zendaya: The Box Office Story Isn't That Simple
It's tempting to stack two rising stars side by side and call it a fight. You see a tweet with three numbers and think, case closed. But the last few years for Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney (movies and tv series) tell a messier, more interesting story - one that says as much about the movies they're in as it does about them.
Here's the snapshot everyone's passing around for Zendaya's last three U.S. opening weekends: Spider-Man: No Way Home at roughly $260M, Dune: Part Two at about $82M, and Challengers at $15M. That's a wild spread. And honestly, it says more about franchise gravity than raw star power.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - ~$260M U.S. opening
- Dune: Part Two (2024) - ~$82M U.S. opening
- Challengers (2024) - ~$15M U.S. opening
Spider-Man and Dune are event machines with IMAX premiums, four-quadrant reach, and pre-sold worlds. Zendaya is a major draw, no question, but those openings ride brand momentum and massive marketing. Challengers is a different animal: an R-rated, adult-skewing original drama that still broke through in a crowded spring. Context matters.
What Sweeney's Numbers Miss
Now look at Sydney Sweeney's recent run: Anyone But You, Madame Web, and Immaculate. On paper, those openings are smaller. But that's where "the numbers don't tell the whole story" really kicks in.
Anyone But You started modestly and then did something studios haven't seen much lately: it grew. Word-of-mouth, TikTok moments, and "date-night repeat viewing" turned a soft debut into a true sleeper - the kind that keeps playing and quietly changes minds in greenlight meetings. Variety broke down that leggy climb in detail, and it's worth a read.
Madame Web? That was a brand problem more than a performer problem. You could feel the audience hesitancy from the first trailer. No single actor can fix a spinoff that never found its pitch. And Immaculate - a small, unnerving horror play Sweeney also produced - did what smart horror often does: open lean, turn a profit fast, and build a devoted niche.
Variety: How Anyone But You became a sleeper hit
Lead vs. Supporting, and Why Genre Skews Everything
Another piece that gets lost in the side-by-side: role size. Zendaya is the emotional center of Challengers, but she's a co-lead/supporting presence in Spider-Man and part of a big ensemble in Dune: Part Two. Sweeney, meanwhile, is front-and-center in Anyone But You and Immaculate, and part of an ensemble in Madame Web.
Opening weekends reward brand and genre. Franchises open huge. Horror opens efficiently. Adult dramas and romantic comedies build with legs - if they hit a nerve. So if you judge actors solely by first weekends, you're grading them on the marketing plan more than the performance.
Timing, Formats, and the "Event" Effect
Release dates inflate or deflate expectation. Holiday corridors and premium formats can add tens of millions. A spring launch for an R-rated drama isn't the same as a December mega-release with wall-to-wall sellouts and IMAX surcharges.
Challengers pulling $15M as an original, adult-skewing title is a real sign that grown-up dramas can still open - if they feel buzzy and cinematic. Anyone But You proved rom-coms aren't "dead," they're momentum-dependent. And Immaculate shows the horror playbook keeps working: keep budgets tight, build atmosphere, let the audience do the marketing.
What This Actually Means (for people making - and covering - movies)
- Zendaya brings global awareness, prestige heat, and credibility with auteurs and franchises. She elevates events and can open originals to a solid base.
- Sweeney brings youth appeal, social buzz, and surprising legs in counterprogramming lanes (rom-com, horror). She also shows producing instincts - that matters.
- The "who won the weekend?" scoreboard is the wrong metric for careers that are clearly being built with different strategies.
Maybe it's just timing. Maybe it's the kinds of stories they're choosing. Either way, the smarter takeaway is this: don't confuse franchise muscle with individual draw, and don't sleep on the movies that start small and stick around. That's where careers - and slates - actually change.
