Emerald Fennell’s bold reimagining of “Wuthering Heights” brought crowds of women to movie theaters this weekend. The Warner Bros. release topped the box office charts and nabbed the title for the year’s biggest opening with $34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. According to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76% of those ticket buyers were women. By the end of Monday’s Presidents Day holiday, the total could rise to $40 million from its 3,682 locations.
The romantic drama starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the star-crossed Catherine and Heathcliff, won out over the weekend’s other newcomers, including the animated “GOAT” and the heist thriller “Crime 101.” “Wuthering Heights” is also performing even better internationally, where it’s expecting to rake in an additional $42 million from 76 territories.
The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported $80 million to produce, not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion. If the four-day totals match the estimates, that makes for a strong $82 million global debut. And the film still has several big openings on the horizon, in Japan and Vietnam on Feb. 27, and in China on March 13.
Fennell’s version of “Wuthering Heights,” which takes many liberties with Emily Brontë’s novel, largely divided critics. It’s currently sitting at a mixed 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. While that didn’t dissuade audiences from buying tickets, only 51% of the opening weekend audience said that they would “definitely recommend” the film to friends. Moviegoers also gave it a less-than-stellar B CinemaScore.
The mid-February weekend has hosted big superhero movies on occasion, including “Black Panther” and “Deadpool,” but a more relevant comparison is “Fifty Shades of Grey” and its two sequels. The first movie opened to over $85 million, the third to $38.6 million.
“GOAT,” an animated Sony release produced by basketball star Stephen Curry, landed in second place with an estimated $26 million from 3,863 locations. It’s projected to bring in another $6 million on Monday, which would bring its four day total to $32 million — the biggest animated debut since “Elemental” in 2023. It also pulled in $15.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to $47.6 million.
The family-friendly film was the only new opener of the weekend to get an A CinemaScore. Sony Pictures Animation was also behind “KPop Demon Hunters.”
“Crime 101” made an estimated $15.1 million in its first three days. Amazon MGM Studios opened the Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo led Los Angeles-set thriller in 3,161 theaters. It’s expected to pull in about $17.8 million by the end of Monday, but the movie has a long way to go to even hit its production budget, which reportedly exceeded $90 million. Audiences, who were 56% men, also gave “Crime 101” a B CinemaScore.
Further down the charts was Briarcliff Entertainment’s sci-fi comedy “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” starring Sam Rockwell and Haley Lu Richardson. It made an estimated $3.6 million from 1,610 locations.
The Walt Disney Studios also celebrated a milestone this weekend, becoming the first studio to cross $1 billion at the global box office in 2026, driven almost entirely by “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” but also helped by the continued success of “Zootopia 2,” which remains in the top 10 after twelve weekends in theaters.
