Cloudy with periods of rain. High 59F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible..
Tonight
Periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low near 50F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.
Emerald Fennell’s bold reimagining of “Wuthering Heights” brought crowds of women to movie theaters this weekend. The Warner Bros. release topped the box office charts and nabbed the title for the year’s biggest opening with $34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. According to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76% of those ticket buyers were women. By the end of Monday's Presidents Day holiday, the total could rise to $40 million from its 3,682 locations.
The romantic drama starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the star-crossed Catherine and Heathcliff, won out over the weekend’s other newcomers, including the animated “GOAT” and the heist thriller “Crime 101.” Its biggest day was Saturday's Valentine's Day holiday, where it earned $14 million. “Wuthering Heights” is also performing even better internationally, where it’s expecting to rake in an additional $42 million from 76 territories.
The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported $80 million to produce, not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion. If the four-day totals match the estimates, that makes for a strong $82 million global debut. And the film still has several big openings on the horizon, in Japan and Vietnam on Feb. 27, and in China on March 13.
The success comes while the future of Warner Bros. hangs in the balance, as Paramount continues to sweeten its hostile takeover bid in hopes of winning out over Netflix. “Wuthering Heights” is the studio's ninth No. 1 opening in a row.
Fennell’s version of “Wuthering Heights,” which takes many liberties with Emily Brontë’s novel, largely divided critics. It’s currently sitting at a mixed 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. While that didn’t dissuade audiences from buying tickets, only 51% of the opening weekend audience said that they would “definitely recommend” the film to friends. Moviegoers also gave it a less-than-stellar B CinemaScore.
The mid-February weekend has hosted big superhero movies on occasion, including “Black Panther” and “Deadpool,” but a more relevant comparison is “Fifty Shades of Grey” and its two sequels. The first movie opened to over $85 million, the third to $38.6 million.
“This was a solid if not record-breaking Presidents Day/Valentines weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, who heads marketplace trends for Comscore. “But that was to be expected without an MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film.”
“GOAT,” an animated Sony release produced by basketball star Stephen Curry, landed in second place with an estimated $26 million from 3,863 locations. It's projected to bring in another $6 million on Monday, which would bring its four day total to $32 million — the biggest animated debut since “Elemental” in 2023. It also pulled in $15.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to $47.6 million.
The family-friendly film was the only new opener of the weekend to get an A CinemaScore. Sony Pictures Animation was also behind “KPop Demon Hunters.”
In third place, “Crime 101” made an estimated $15.1 million in its first three days. Amazon MGM Studios opened the Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo led Los Angeles-set thriller in 3,161 theaters. It’s expected to pull in about $17.8 million by the end of Monday, but the movie has a long way to go to even hit its production budget, which reportedly exceeded $90 million. Audiences, who were 56% men, also gave “Crime 101” a B CinemaScore.
“Send Help” and “Solo Mio” rounded out the top five with $9 million and $6.4 million, respectively. Further down the charts, at No. 7, was Briarcliff Entertainment’s sci-fi comedy “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” starring Sam Rockwell and Haley Lu Richardson. It made an estimated $3.6 million from 1,610 locations.
The Walt Disney Studios also celebrated a milestone this weekend, becoming the first studio to cross $1 billion at the global box office in 2026, driven almost entirely by “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” but also helped by the continued success of “Zootopia 2,” which remains in the top 10 after twelve weekends in theaters.
The weekend is down significantly from the same weekend last year, when “Captain America: Brave New World” opened, but the pace is starting to pick up and theaters have “Scream 7” and “Project Hail Mary” on the horizon.
Recommended for you
“It’s been a rather slow first quarter,” Dergarabedian said. “But this could ignite a spark at the box office.”
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Tuesday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Wuthering Heights,” $34.8 million.
2. “GOAT,” $26 million.
3. “Crime 101,” $15.1 million.
4. “Send Help,” $9 million.
5. “Solo Mio,” $6.4 million.
6. “Zootopia 2,” $3.8 million.
7. “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” $3.6 million.
8. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $3.3 million.
9. “Iron Lung,” $3.1 million.
10. “Dracula,” $3 million.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.