On today’s episode of the Daily Variety podcast, Variety’s Rebecca Rubin breaks down a strong weekend at the box office with a variety of new titles, including Warner Bros.’ Emerald Fennell’s buzzy hit Wuthering Heights and Sony Pictures’ animated family film GOAT.
Given the Valentine’s Day weekend bow, it was no surprise to Rubin, Variety’s senior film and media correspondent and head of box office, that the audience for Wuthering Heights was largely female.
“Over 75 percent of the opening weekend crowd was women, so it’s probably safe to say it was a Valentine’s Day event,” Rubin observes. Director Fennell and star Margot Robbie, who is also a producer, have made the deliberate choice to bring Bronte’s story to the big screen when the rights to the project become available in late 2024.
“Netflix actually made a pretty high bid for ‘Wuthering Heights.’ They were offering to pay $150 million for Emerald Fennell’s interpretation of the classic novel. In fact, the filmmakers and producers opted to take less money from Warner Bros. in exchange for a theatrical release and a full-scale marketing campaign, and it appears to have paid off,” says Rubin.
“This movie cost $150 million to make and once it hits theaters, it’s going to change the story of where it starts in terms of opening weekend ticket sales. But this is the ninth Warner Bros. movie to open at No. 1 (since last year). They’ve had great, great box office numbers,” she says. “And when you have a star who’s interested in a property that people are interested in, and a director who puts his own spin on things and makes something feel like a play, those are all just factors that help generate conversation. You never know what this movie will do once it’s released on Netflix and what kind of cultural impact it will have. But $82 million in its opening weekend is certainly a great start.”
(Photo: “Wuthering Heights”)
Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Variety’s YouTube Podcast channel, Amazon Music, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
