Emerald Fennell’s sizzling film adaptation of Wuthering Heights is poised to rip off the box office.
The gothic R-rated romantic drama is aiming for a strong debut of $50 million to $55 million in 3,600 North American theaters over the President’s Day holiday weekend. The remake of Emily Bronte’s novel, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is aiming for an additional $30 million to $40 million at the international box office. Warner Bros. backed Wuthering Heights, which cost $80 million to make.
“Wuthering Heights” is looming over several newcomers, including the Stephen Curry-produced animated sports adventure “GOAT” and the star-studded heist thriller “Crime 101,” led by Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Barry Keoghan. “GOAT” is expected to start in second place with $20 million to $25 million from 3,700 venues over four days, with independent tracking services suggesting a start closer to $30 million. meanwhile. “Crime 101” is estimated to gross between $15 million and $17 million from 3,000 locations during its extended opening weekend.
“Wuthering Heights” looks to continue its impressive box office run for Warner Bros. In 2025, the studio delivered an impressive string of hits, including “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners,” “Final Destination Bloodlines,” and “Weapons.” The project will be Fennell’s third feature film, following the Oscar-winning revenge thriller Promising Young Woman and the ultra-provocative Saltburn, which introduced audiences to the concept of drinking dirty bathwater. Set in 18th century England, Wuthering Heights depicts the toxic relationship between a high society woman named Catherine Earnshaw (Robbie) and a social outcast she calls Heathcliff (Elordi). Critical reviews were mixed, with Peter DeBrugge of Variety praising Fennell’s erotic interpretation, writing, “She seizes on the passion that was always present in the material but never made explicit, amplifying something that for years had little reward.”
Like the spicy Fifty Shades trilogy and the romantic comedies Isn’t It Romantic and How to Be Single before it, Wuthering Heights is positioned as the de facto option for women around Valentine’s Day? “GOAT,” on the other hand, caters to families, a very important demographic that hasn’t had any compelling new products since Thanksgiving and has resorted to endlessly rewatching “Zootopia 2.” That leaves “Crime 101” for boys and men.
GOAT was produced by Sony Pictures Animation for $80 million. This children’s film, directed by Tyree Dillihay, tells the story of an anthropomorphic goat who aspires to become the greatest player of all time in a basketball-like sport called Roarball. Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, and Jennifer Hudson round out the voice cast. Owen Gleiberman, Variety’s chief film critic, called GOAT a “vivid surprise” and wrote that it was “a wildly original, unlike anything you’ve seen before…a fairy tale about dreaming.”
Amazon MGM’s latest film, Crime 101, cost $90 million to make. Hemsworth plays an elusive jewel thief who plans a high-stakes heist on a Los Angeles freeway in “Crime 101,” directed by Burt Layton (“American Animals”), which adapted the novella by “The Power of the Dog” novelist Don Winslow.
Domestic sales are 10% higher than last year’s tally, but that percentage is expected to shrink by the end of next week, according to ComScore. That’s because Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World grossed $100 million over the four-day President’s Day weekend in 2025. This will put pressure on upcoming releases such as “Scream 7”, Pixar’s animated “Hoppers” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “Frankenstein” remake “The Bride.” And Universal and Illumination’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” will continue to heat up the box office from winter to spring.
