{"id":299711,"date":"2026-02-15T18:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/299711\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T18:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:20:08","slug":"wuthering-heights-leads-box-office-crime-101-bombs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/299711\/","title":{"rendered":"Wuthering Heights Leads Box Office, Crime 101 Bombs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cWuthering Heights<\/a>,\u201d a steamy romantic drama starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is heating up the box office over Valentine\u2019s Day weekend. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe R-rated film has debuted to $33 million from 3,682 North American theaters and is projected to earn $40 million through President\u2019s Day on Monday. Rivals believe the four-day figure will be closer to $35 million. In a box office twist, \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d enjoyed a bigger start at the international box office with $42 million from 76 territories for a global launch of $82 million. Since the initial domestic ticket sales are slightly softer than expected, the movie may rely on overseas audiences to justify its $80 million production budget (not including the tens of millions spent on the global promotional tour).<\/p>\n

\n\tEmerald Fennell wrote and directed \u201cWuthering Heights,\u201d which is her third feature film following the Oscar-winning revenge thriller \u201cPromising Young Woman\u201d and ultra-provocative \u201cSaltburn.\u201d Netflix had offered to pay a staggering $150 million for Fennell\u2019s take on Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s novel about a toxic couple in 18th century England. However, the filmmaker and producers, including Robbie, opted to take less money from Warner Bros. in exchange for a wide theatrical release and full-scale marketing campaign. The partnership resulted in the ninth consecutive No. 1 opening for Warner Bros. following a string of hits such as \u201cA Minecraft Movie,\u201d \u201cSinners,\u201d \u201cFinal Destination Bloodlines\u201d and \u201cWeapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey were right [to want a theatrical release]. It\u2019s paying off,\u201d says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. \u201cThe classic material, good-looking actors, and steamy treatment are connecting. Business should be strong overseas, thanks to Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tLike the spicy \u201cFifth Shades\u201d trilogy and rom-coms \u201cIsn\u2019t It Romantic\u201d and \u201cHow to Be Single\u201d before it, \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d was the de facto choice for women around Valentine\u2019s Day. More than 75% of opening weekend crowds were women. However, they were mixed on the film, which earned a \u201cB\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls, so it\u2019s unclear what that\u2019ll mean for word-of-mouth.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWuthering Heights\u201d towered over several newcomers, including the animated sports adventure \u201cGOAT<\/a>\u201d and heist thriller \u201cCrime 101<\/a>\u201d with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Barry Keoghan. Two holdovers, survival thriller \u201cSend Help\u201d and the Angel Studios rom-com \u201cSolo Mio,\u201d rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGOAT\u201d debuted in second place with $26 million from 3,862 venues over the weekend and a projected $32 million through the four-day holiday frame. It collected $15.6 million from 42 overseas markets (60% of its international rollout) for a worldwide tally of $47.6 million. It\u2019s a respectable start at a challenging time for original animation. (Disney\u2019s Pixar, considered the gold standard in animation, has particularly struggled to launch a new property<\/a> in several years.) Sony Pictures Animation, which produced \u201cGOAT\u201d for $80 million, hopes the well-received sports story will become a slow-and-steady hit in the vein of recent Universal and DreamWorks properties that showed impressive box office endurance, including 2023\u2019s \u201cMigration\u201d (which opened to $12.7 million and eventually earned $300 million globally) and 2024\u2019s \u201cThe Wild Robot (which debuted to $35 million and powered to $334 million worldwide).<\/p>\n

\n\tDirected by Tyree Dillihay and produced by NBA champ Steph Curry, \u201cGOAT\u201d follows an anthropomorphic goat who aspires to become the greatest of all time at a basketball-esque sport called roarball. Audiences, most of whom were families, gave the movie an \u201cA\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls, which bodes well for word-of-mouth. Plus, there won\u2019t be competition on the kid-friendly front until Pixar\u2019s \u201cHoppers\u201d arrives in March.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCrime 101\u201d stumbled in the No. 3 spot with $15.1 million from 3,161 locations over the weekend and a projected $17.7 million through Monday\u2019s holiday. Rivals believe the four-day number will be closer to $15 million to $16 million. Internationally, the movie collected $12 million from 60 territories. It would be a decent start for R-rated adult-oriented fare, except that Amazon MGM spent $90 million to produce the film. Since theater owners keep roughly half of ticket sales, \u201cCrime 101\u201d will need to stick around in theaters long after opening weekend to justify its price tag. Reviews were positive, though moviegoers were mixed, as evidenced by the \u201cB\u201d CinemaScore grade. Bart Layton (\u201cAmerican Animals\u201d) directed \u201cCrime 101,\u201d which stars Hemsworth as an elusive jewel thief who plots high-stake heists across the Los Angeles freeway.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmazon MGM would argue that \u201cCrime 101\u201d doesn\u2019t need to be a box office juggernaut in order to be successful. The e-retailer-turned-media giant has said in the past that it\u2019s only aiming to earn back its marketing and distribution spend and is looking to theatrical to elevate a film\u2019s launch on Prime Video. Industry rivals, many of whom also operate streaming services, believe that\u2019s a dubious explanation for an expenditure of this size, in the case of \u201cCrime 101.\u201d Moreover, viewership metrics across all streaming platforms go largely unreported, so it\u2019s nearly impossible to know what constitutes a win in the streaming era. Amazon MGM, which has released the Chris Pratt-led \u201cMercy\u201d and first lady documentary \u201cMelania\u201d earlier this year to middling results, could rebound in the spring with \u201cProject Hail Mary,\u201d a sci-fi adventure starring Ryan Gosling.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSend Help,\u201d a well-reviewed horror film starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O\u2019Brien, slid to fourth place with $9 million over the weekend and an estimated $10.7 million through Monday. After three weekends of release (two of which were spent at No. 1), the Disney movie has generated $48 million and $72 million globally against a $40 million budget. With an assist from \u201cSend Help,\u201d though mostly due to the continued success of \u201cZootopia 2\u201d and \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash,\u201d Disney is the first studio to cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office in 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\tFifth place went to \u201cSolo Mio\u201d with $6.2 million over the weekend and a projected $7.8 million through the four-day stretch. The PG film, featuring Kevin James as a man who gets left at the altar and goes on his honeymoon alone, has grossed $18 million after two weekends on the big screen.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother newcomer, sci-fi comedy adventure \u201cGood Luck, Have Fun, Don\u2019t Die,\u201d opened at No. 7 with $3.6 million from 1,610 theaters over the weekend and an estimated $4.1 million through Monday. Sam Rockwell and Haley Lu Richardson star in the film, which follows a futuristic man who takes hostages at a Los Angeles diner to recruit a band of heroes to help him save the world. Gore Verbinski, best known for directing three \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d installments, directed \u201cGood Luck, Have Fun, Don\u2019t Die,\u201d with Briarcliff Entertainment handling the theatrical rollout. It received a \u201cB\u201d grade on CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn limited release, Neon\u2019s mockumentary \u201cNirvana: The Band The Show The Movie\u201d started strong with $1.2 million over the traditional weekend and an estimated $1.4 million through Monday from just 365 screens. Directed by Matt Johnson, the Canadian sci-fi adventure \u2014 which has nothing to do with the actual band Nirvana \u2014 follows two friends who travel back to 2008 after moonlighting as a group called \u201cNirvanna the Band\u201d and attempting to book a gig at a hip Toronto bar called the Rivoli.<\/p>\n

\n\tDomestic revenues are 8% ahead of 2025\u2019s tally, according to Comscore. That number shrank because a year ago, Marvel\u2019s \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d launched to $100 million over the four-day President\u2019s Day holiday in 2025. Although this weekend was solid for counter-programming, there\u2019s pressure on upcoming releases like \u201cScream 7,\u201d \u201cHoppers,\u201d director Maggie Gyllenhaal\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein\u201d remake \u201cThe Bride!\u201d and Universal and Illumination\u2019s \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d to warm up the box office into winter and spring.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAlthough the lack of a Marvel movie made for a comparatively quiet President\u2019s Day weekend, a host of newcomers benefited from the extended holiday frame,\u201d says Comscore\u2019s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cThis could be the weekend that creates much-needed momentum heading into the month of March.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWuthering Heights,\u201d a steamy romantic drama starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is heating up the box office…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[62441,93,58632,61,60,270,36838],"class_list":{"0":"post-299711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-crime-101","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-goat","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-movies","14":"tag-wuthering-heights"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}