Wuthering Heights Dominates the Weekend Box Office, Toppling Goat and Crime 101
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights stormed the weekend box office with an $82 million global debut—the year’s biggest so far—muscling past Sony’s GOAT and Amazon MGM Studios’ Crime 101 to claim No. 1.
Turns out doomed romance sells. Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights just muscled past the competition and landed the biggest worldwide opening of the year so far, riding a very on-the-nose Valentine weekend to the top spot.
The numbers that mattered
- Wuthering Heights (Warner Bros.): $82 million worldwide. That breaks down to $40 million over the four-day domestic holiday stretch and $42 million from 76 international territories. Rival studio estimates put the North American total closer to the mid-$30 millions, but Warner Bros. is very happy planting its flag on that $82 million global figure.
- GOAT (Sony Pictures): $47.6 million worldwide. That includes $32 million over four days domestically and $15.6 million overseas from 42 markets. About 40% of its international rollout is still to come, and Sony will be hoping this $80–90 million animated sports comedy has long legs.
- Crime 101 (Amazon MGM Studios): $29.7 million worldwide. The noir thriller with Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo pulled $17.7 million domestically over four days and $12 million from 60 international markets. Respectable for an R-rated adult drama, but with a $90 million price tag, it needs solid holds in the weeks ahead.
How Wuthering Heights did it
Fennell's new take on Emily Bronte's classic drops Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff back into 18th-century England, with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi headlining an $80 million production. Premium formats did heavy lifting: IMAX and other large-format screens made up 31% of domestic revenue. Also helping: Valentine's Day landed on a Saturday, which is basically a cheat code for a sweeping romance.
Internationally, the film overperformed in several key spots. The United Kingdom led with $10.3 million, followed by Italy at $4.4 million and Australia at $4.3 million. It also opened No. 1 in India, Thailand, and Singapore. In the U.S., the audience skewed heavily female (76% of ticket buyers). Overseas, it drew a broader crowd, especially across Europe.
Where the race stands now
Wuthering Heights outpaced GOAT and Crime 101 by a wide margin and now owns the year's top global opening. The next question is staying power: romance-fueled buzz plus premium formats can launch a movie; word of mouth decides weekend two. For GOAT, a chunk of the world still to open could give it a late kick. Crime 101 has decent footing for a grown-up thriller, but it is walking a tighter financial rope.