New R-Rated Smash Ends Zendaya’s 8-Year Box Office Reign
After nearly a decade on top, Zendaya’s domestic box office streak just snapped: A24’s R-rated The Drama opened at No. 3, with debut numbers that could reshape her box office trajectory.
Well, it finally happened—Zendaya’s box office hot streak is officially over. After eight years on top, her new movie The Drama didn’t snag the number one spot during its opening weekend. If you’ve been following Zendaya’s run, you know that’s kind of a big deal.
How The Drama Ended the Streak
A24’s The Drama opened over Easter weekend and came in third place on the domestic charts. That’s a first for Zendaya since Smallfoot barely missed the top slot way back in September 2018. This time, she lost out to Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary and the not-even-in-the-same-genre animated juggernaut The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
For the box office number crunchers out there: The Drama pulled in a domestic three-day opening of $14,380,197 from 3,087 theaters. Here’s how the weekend split actually shook out:
- Friday: $6.4 million
- Saturday: $4.6 million
- Easter Sunday: $3.3 million
That puts it about $600,000 behind the opening of her previous film, Challengers, which is a pretty narrow gap, but the streak is the streak.
What About Her Box Office History?
Since 2018, Zendaya’s six theatrically-released films have all debuted at number one in the US. That list includes two Spider-Man movies, Dune and its sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and Challengers. The Drama finally broke that run.
Audience and Critical Numbers—Mixed Signals
Let’s talk about who actually showed up for The Drama:
- The film cost $28 million to make.
- 68% of the audience was female.
- 80% of the opening weekend crowd was under 35, which honestly isn’t too shocking given Zendaya’s fan base.
- Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 77% (Certified Fresh).
- Audience score: 81%.
- CinemaScore: B (for the record, Challengers earned a B+).
So, basically, people liked it but weren’t shouting from the rooftops about it (and, again, that’s a notch below what Zendaya usually pulls).
Worldwide Performance and What’s Next
Globally, the movie debuted with around $28 million, mostly fueled by the UK and France. Still, The Drama has a ways to go before it’s out of the financial woods—the break-even number is reportedly as high as $70 million. That’s a big hill.
A quick note for reference: A24’s romance flick Materialists only managed an $11.3 million opening but eventually pulled in $107.9 million worldwide, so comebacks aren’t impossible.
And if you’re wondering what’s next for Zendaya, she’s set to appear in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, landing in theaters July 17.
'After topping movie charts for eight years straight, Zendaya finally has an opening weekend that’s only “good”—not “blockbuster.”'
The bottom line: Zendaya’s run at number one had to end sometime. The Drama did fine. But it’s proof that even the biggest stars can’t win every weekend—especially not when Mario and Ryan Gosling are in the mix.