Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, is poised for a major opening across the Presidents Day weekend. Industry tracking projects a global launch between $70 million and $80 million, with roughly $40 million–$50 million of that expected domestically over the four-day holiday. The release will roll out widely: about 3,600 U.S. locations and roughly 18,000 screens worldwide, including IMAX and other premium formats. The film’s timing follows Elordi’s Best Supporting Oscar nomination for Frankenstein and benefits from international playdates in key markets such as France, Korea, Germany and the U.K.
Key Takeaways
- Projected global opening: $70M–$80M, with domestic four-day receipts forecast at $40M–$50M.
- Screen count: approximately 3,600 domestic locations and 18,000 screens worldwide across 79 territories.
- Audience composition: strongest unaided awareness and first-choice intent among women 25+, followed by women under 25.
- Rotten Tomatoes score: roughly 71% fresh for Wuthering Heights as of tracking reports.
- Comp titles: Lionsgate’s The Housemaid had an opening-weekend baseline near $34.8M overseas in a staggered release; animated family title Goat projects about $20M domestically.
- Premium formats—IMAX, Dolby Cinema and premium large format—are expected to add meaningful ticket upcharge revenue.
- Other wide openers this weekend include Sony’s Goat (~3,500 theaters, est. $20M four-day) and Amazon MGM’s Crime 101 (~3,000 theaters, est. $15M four-day).
Background
The new Wuthering Heights is an ambitious studio-scale adaptation produced by MRC and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by Emerald Fennell, whose previous film Promising Young Woman won an Oscar. The project attracted heated studio interest in pre-release negotiations; trade reporting indicates Warner Bros. secured the MRC production with an $80 million bid after Netflix reportedly offered as much as $150 million. The adaptation relocates Brontë’s 19th-century tale to a cinematic, adult-rated drama built around the chemistry between Robbie’s Catherine Earnshaw and Elordi’s Heathcliff.
Warner Bros. is positioning the film for a broad, premium-heavy launch during a high-attendance holiday weekend—Presidents Day in the U.S.—which historically lifts four-day grosses. Domestic counterprogramming aims squarely at adult women, especially the 25-plus cohort, while international distribution covers major box office territories including France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Korea and the United Kingdom. The production was largely shot in the Yorkshire Dales, giving the film authentic moorland visuals that marketing emphasizes.
Main Event
Marketing and tracking indicate Wuthering Heights will open wide on approximately 3,600 North American screens and appear on 11,600 international screens this weekend, totaling near 18,000 global playdates. Domestic projections show $40M–$50M across Friday–Monday, supported by early previews starting at 3 p.m. ahead of the R-rated release. Premium formats and experiential venues—IMAX, Dolby, drive-ins and dine-in theaters—are expected to boost per-ticket revenue.
The U.S. tracking profile places women over 25 as the strongest cohort in unaided awareness and first-choice interest, with younger women also showing solid engagement. Critics have generally responded positively; the film sits around 71% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating favorable but not unanimous critical enthusiasm. Comparisons in messaging and tone have been drawn to past adult romance/erotic drama openings, such as Fifty Shades Darker and It Ends With Us, though creative teams emphasize Fennell’s distinct auteur voice.
Rivals this weekend are targeted at different demos: Sony Pictures Animation’s Goat aims at families and children with a projected $20M domestic four-day, while Amazon MGM’s Crime 101 is marketed to men over 25, projecting roughly $15M stateside. The combination of three studio-level releases creates a crowded holiday marketplace where each film must maximize its core niche.
Analysis & Implications
If Wuthering Heights hits the $70M–$80M global range, it will validate Warner Bros.’ investment in adult-oriented literary adaptations and Fennell’s escalation to a mega-wide release. A strong opening driven by women 25+ would reinforce the commercial value of star-led prestige drama as reliable counterprogramming against family and franchise fare. Domestic strength could also lift downstream revenue streams—streaming windows, premium VOD and international territory sales—by boosting perceived audience demand.
Conversely, a softer-than-expected debut would raise questions about the ceiling for R-rated romantic dramas in a market increasingly dominated by franchises and family tentpoles. Given the studio reportedly outbid Netflix on the production, a disappointing launch would complicate valuations for future theatrical-first adult projects and could influence studio bidding behavior for prestige properties.
Internationally, the film’s performance in markets like France, the U.K., Germany and Australia will be crucial. The picture’s moorland setting and literary pedigree play well in Europe, but cultural differences in adult romance reception and competition from local titles—especially around Chinese New Year in Asia—may mute overseas returns in the short term. Premium format uptake should cushion grosses per-screen but will not substitute for broad demographic appeal.
Comparison & Data
| Title | Domestic 4-day Est. | Domestic Screens | Global Screen Footprint | Notable Demo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wuthering Heights | $40M–$50M | ~3,600 | ~18,000 | Women 25+ |
| Goat | ~$20M | ~3,500 | 50 markets offshore (60% footprint) | Families |
| Crime 101 | ~$15M | ~3,000 | ~7,000 (60 markets) | Men 25+ |
The table above aggregates studio projections and reported screen counts to contextualize expected weekend splits. Historically, Presidents Day four-day weekends can lift totals—last year the frame generated $179.5M for all titles—with tentpoles like Captain America previously topping $100M in the same slot. Even if Wuthering Heights meets its high end, the three leading new releases combined might still fall short of blockbuster holiday totals from franchise-run years.
Reactions & Quotes
“I hope it becomes this generation’s ‘Titanic’,”
Emerald Fennell (director, press comments)
Fennell’s remark frames the film’s commercial ambition and emotional scale; marketing has leaned into sweeping romance imagery to match that aspiration.
“The film is not as ‘raunchy’ as people expect,”
Margot Robbie (actor, promotional remarks)
Robbie’s clarification seeks to re-shape audience expectations ahead of release, emphasizing character and story over gratuitous sensationalism.
“Tracking places women 25-plus as the core audience with clear unaided awareness gains,”
Industry tracker (trade polling)
Box office trackers note that unaided awareness and first-choice metrics correlate strongly with weekend realization; conversions from interest to ticket purchase will determine whether projections hold.
Unconfirmed
- The reported $150M Netflix offer for the MRC production has been widely reported in trades but lacks an official studio confirmation; it remains a reported figure rather than an independently verified contract value.
- Exact international weekend grosses and premium-format uplift will depend on real-time attendance trends and have not been publicly posted at the time of this preview.
- Market-by-market release dates—especially in China around Chinese New Year—may shift and could alter the film’s global weekend total.
Bottom Line
Wuthering Heights arrives as the marquee adult offering over a busy Presidents Day weekend, with a clear path to a $70M–$80M global opening if core female audiences turn out as tracked. Premium format adoption and strong international rollouts in Europe, Australia and key territories could push totals toward the high end of projections.
However, the crowded slate—anchored by family-friendly and male-skewing alternatives—means the film must convert early critical interest and unaided awareness into ticket sales to meet expectations. Studio and industry observers will watch weekend conversion rates, per-screen averages and premium-format revenue closely to judge whether literary, R-rated dramas can sustain mega-wide theatrical economics going forward.