It’s a tale of two very different movies at the Valentine’s Day weekend box office, both of which seem to be feeling the impact of the streaming revolution.
Emerald Fennell sold her dark, decidedly unfaithful adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” to Warner Bros. for $80 million over a pricier offer from Netflix because she wanted the romantic drama to be a theatrical event. By all accounts, that’s been the case — it’s on track to earn $38 million domestic over the four-day holiday, and another $45 million internationally after a strong marketing campaign that leaned into the more lustful aspects of the story and Charli XCX’s moody soundtrack.
Social media, too, is abuzz with videos of unsuspecting theatergoers filming their before/after reactions, melting into a flood of tears at the emotional gut-punch of a finale for the Margot Robbie/Jacob Elordi film. Others are debating Fennell’s deviations from the source material, bringing to mind the reactions to Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” in the ’90s.
Bottom line: People are talking about it.
Then there’s “Crime 101,” Amazon MGM’s star-studded crime thriller that has been well-reviewed and boasts an ensemble that includes “Avengers” stars Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo. Despite that, the $90 million film is off to a tepid global start of just $29 million. A handsomely crafted crime thriller is precisely the kind of film that streaming has largely killed at the box office — just last month the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck-starring “The Rip” was a huge hit on Netflix.
Audiences have become accustomed to this particular genre as a streaming movie, no matter how strong the word of mouth. It’s enough to make you wonder if films like “The Town” or even “Heat” would get a theatrical release in this day and age.
We’ll see how it legs out, but the performance of “Crime 101” and “Wuthering Heights” serves as an interesting showcase of genres that theatrical audiences will and won’t show out for in the streaming era.
And one thing’s for sure: they’ll be huge hits on Prime Video and HBO Max eventually.
Box Office: ‘Wuthering Heights’ Heads for $38 Million 4-Day Box Office Opening
After earning $14 million on Saturday thanks to a Valentine’s Day bump, Warner Bros./MRC/LuckyChap’s “Wuthering Heights” is off to a good start with an estimated four-day opening weekend of $38 million domestic and $83 million worldwide.
Audience scores for Emerald Fennell and Margot Robbie’s Brontë adaptation have skewed positive with a B on CinemaScore and 3.5/5 on PostTrak, with 51% in the latter poll giving the film the top score of “definite recommend.”
“Wuthering Heights” will now try to keep that energy going over the next few weeks, hoping to bring in wider audiences who want to be part of the conversation. But historically, there are no examples in the 21st century of a Valentine’s Day romance film earning a 3x multiple domestically, so a domestic run in the range of $100 million is likely the ceiling here.
Overseas could be another story. Back in 2015, the Valentine’s Day smash hit “Fifty Shades of Grey” made 70% of its $569 million global total from international theaters. Widening the scope to Hollywood films aimed at women, and there are more recent examples like “The Housemaid,” which has made 64% of its $353 million total from international markets, namely Western Europe, Australia and Brazil.
“Wuthering Heights” is seeing similar breakout performances from areas where “Housemaid” did well, namely the United Kingdom, where it is topping $10 million on opening weekend, with Italy, Australia, Mexico and Germany rounding out the top five markets. Keep an eye out for those markets in the weeks ahead, as “Heights” may have better chance of legging out there.
Another new film that will need to leg out is Sony Pictures Animation’s “Goat,” which is starting to gain traction at the box office after earning $11 million on Saturday and is projected to be the highest-grossing film on Presidents Day ahead of “Wuthering Heights” as it earns an estimated $32 million 4-day opening.
If that estimate holds, “Goat” will have the best opening weekend for an original animated film since Pixar’s “Elemental” in June 2023. And like that film, “Goat” will need extensive legs to turn a profit against its reported $80 million budget before marketing. Internationally, the film added $15.6 million through Sunday, giving it a global start of $47 million with 40% of international markets still to play.
Amazon MGM’s “Crime 101” is third with an estimated $17.3 million 4-day opening. As expected for a “Heat”-style crime thriller releasing on Valentine’s Day weekend, the audience is skewing older and male with 56% men and 61% over the age of 35.
Reception for “Crime 101” is stronger than for Amazon MGM’s “Mercy,” which was a theatrical bust with just $50 million worldwide through four weekends against a reported $60 million budget. But “Crime 101” carries a higher production spend at $90 million, and with a global start of just $29 million, it will face an extremely uphill battle to leg out beyond its core demo. – Jeremy Fuster
The Spotlight
For TheWrap’s latest magazine cover story, “Hamnet” filmmaker Chloé Zhao spoke with Missy Schwartz about the whirlwind reception her drama has gotten — and why this awards run is so different from when she was on the circuit for “Nomadland.” Zhao goes deep on grief, love and why “we’ve got to keep our hearts open.” Read the full story here.
New Releases
Gore Verbinski Returns: What took Gore Verbinski so long to return with his original indie “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die?” Drew Taylor spoke to the “Pirates” filmmaker about where he’s been and the challenge of getting his AI-focused new movie made.
An Animated Slam Dunk: Sony Pictures Animation and the NBA marked a unique collaboration for the animated film “Goat.” Drew Taylor dives into how it happened.
Meet the Resistance: There’s a growing organization trying to halt the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery. Jeremy Fuster goes inside the group that’s taking root in Hollywood.
Sundance Sale: “Josephine,” one of the buzziest films at this year’s Sundance and one that sparked awards buzz, finally sold to Sumerian Pictures.
Koepp on Koepp: David Koepp, the screenwriter behind “Jurassic Park” and “Spider-Man,” adapted his own novel “Cold Storage” for his latest directorial effort. Read his chat with Drew Taylor about this and his next Spielberg collaboration.
Casting Directors Tell All: TheWrap hosted a Q&A with this year’s Oscar-nominated casting directors.
And International Filmmakers Too: TheWrap also hosted a Q&A with the nominated directors for Best International Film. We been busy!
Concession Stand
“Train Dreams,” an excellent film, was victorious at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday.
Disney and Paramount both hit ByteDance with C&Ds over Seedance’s rampant AI videos using well-known IP. The company said it’d curb the infractions in response.
The Berlinale jury was hit with questions about politics right out of the gate, but president Wim Wenders shut it down.
Mike Flanagan, the greatest Stephen King adapter alive, is tackling another King classic for Warner Bros: “The Mist.”
It’s happening: Universal has greenlit another “Mummy” movie with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and the “Scream” and “Ready or Not” filmmaking team Radio Silence.
“One Battle After Another,” “Frankenstein” and “Wicked: For Good” were victorious at the Costume Designers Guild awards.
Streaming Corner
- Universal’s Netflix era has begun. 2025’s “How to Train Your Dragon” became the first live-action new release Universal movie to hit the streamer under a new licensing deal, and the film — which grossed $637 million worldwide — was an instant hit on the streamer, sitting as the No. 2 most-watched film on Netflix over the weekend. Universal’s animated films have seen huge viewership on the streamer in the past, and it appears its live-action slate could find similar footing. The hits will continue when “Jurassic World Rebirth” arrives later this month.
- For the kiddos (and parents): “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” which grossed $166 million after being released over the holidays in December, hits Paramount+ on Feb. 17.
What I’m Watching
I hit a packed screening of “Wuthering Heights” on Friday, and it was a pretty healthy mix of female-skewed Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X-ers in the theater who all seemed to dig Emerald Fennell’s twisted adaptation. It’s gorgeously crafted, and Fennell and cinematographer Linus Sandgren frame up some wonderfully evocative shots throughout. It’s also sneakily emotional for those unfamiliar with the book — there were a lot of tears when the credits rolled. I still contend Fennell is akin to this generation’s Baz Luhrmann. Divisive for sure, but she’s operating on a “vibes” level. When it hits, it hits.
