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This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Margot Robbie, right, and Jacob Elordi in a scene from “Wuthering Heights.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
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 USD 34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
‘Wuthering Heights’ tops box office
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 USD 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’. Its biggest day was Saturday’s Valentine’s Day holiday, where it earned USD 14 million.
‘Wuthering Heights’ global box office
‘Wuthering Heights’ is also performing even better internationally, where it’s expecting to rake in an additional USD 42 million from 76 territories. The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported USD 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 USD 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.The success comes while the future of Warner Bros. hangs in the balance, as Paramount continues to sweeten its hostile takeover bid in hopes of winning out over Netflix. ‘Wuthering Heights’ is the studio’s ninth No. 1 opening in a row.Fennell’s version of ‘Wuthering Heights’, which takes many liberties with Emily Bronte’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.
‘Wuthering Heights’ vs ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
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 USD 85 million, the third to USD 38.6 million.
‘GOAT’ to score biggest debut since ‘Elemental’
‘GOAT’, an animated Sony release produced by basketball star Stephen Curry, landed in second place with an estimated USD 26 million from 3,863 locations. It’s projected to bring in another USD 6 million on Monday, which would bring its four day total to USD 32 million – the biggest animated debut since ‘Elemental’ in 2023. It also pulled in USD 15.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to USD 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’ makes USD 15 million debut
In third place, ‘Crime 101’ made an estimated USD 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 USD 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 USD 90 million. Audiences, who were 56% men, also gave ‘Crime 101’ a B CinemaScore.‘Send Help’ and ‘Solo Mio’ rounded out the top five with USD 9 million and USD 6.4 million, respectively. Further down the charts, at No. 7, 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 USD 3.6 million from 1,610 locations.
Disney crosses USD 1 billion in 2026
The Walt Disney Studios also celebrated a milestone this weekend, becoming the first studio to cross USD 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. The weekend is down significantly from the same weekend last year, when ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ opened, but the pace is starting to pick up and theaters have ‘Scream 7’ and ‘Project Hail Mary’ on the horizon.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Tuesday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:1. ‘Wuthering Heights’ – USD 34.8 million.2. ‘GOAT’ – USD 26 million.3. ‘Crime 101’ – USD 15.1 million.4. ‘Send Help’ – USD 9 million.5. ‘Solo Mio’ – USD 6.4 million.6. ‘Zootopia 2’ – USD 3.8 million.7. ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ – USD 3.6 million.8. ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ – USD 3.3 million.9. ‘Iron Lung,’ – USD 3.1 million.10. ‘Dracula’ – USD 3 million.
Source: Times of India
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