‘Wuthering Heights’ Faces Box Office Headwinds, Eyes Valentine’s Day Rescue

Emerald Fennell’s steamy literary gamble is still winning the weekend — but softer audience reactions are raising early questions.

Warner Bros.’ high-profile romantic drama Wuthering Heights is still on track to top the Valentine’s Day/Presidents Day frame, but the studio’s buzzy literary adaptation is showing signs of early box office vulnerability that could complicate its long-term trajectory.

Directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the film entered the holiday corridor with strong pre-release awareness and heavy Gen Z curiosity. Yet after its first full day in theaters, the conversation has shifted from breakout potential to cautious watch mode. While Warner Bros. continues to project a four-day domestic opening around $40 million, rival tracking suggests the film may land closer to the $33 million to $35 million range — a meaningful gap from earlier expectations that hovered near $50 million.

The film earned $13.3 million on Friday, including $3 million in previews, numbers that should comfortably secure the No. 1 spot for the holiday weekend but have raised eyebrows across distribution circles. According to industry sources, presales appeared healthy, but walk-up business — often critical for adult-skewing romances — has been softer than hoped.

Audience response metrics are also sending mixed signals. The film received a B CinemaScore, a respectable but not especially strong grade for a romance leaning heavily on passion and spectacle. CinemaScore results matter particularly for films aiming to play as date-night events, where word of mouth can significantly shape second-weekend momentum.

Critically, the narrative is similarly split. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes critics score has settled in the low 60s, reflecting a polarized response to Fennell’s deliberately provocative reinterpretation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel. Warner Bros. has pointed to stronger PostTrak exits and a higher audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting the film may still stabilize as general audiences weigh in more fully.

The studio’s bet on a younger demographic appears to have partially paid off. Roughly 53 percent of Friday ticket buyers fell between ages 18 and 34, indicating that the campaign successfully pulled in Gen Z and younger millennials — a group not always reliable for period romance. The remaining question is whether older female audiences, traditionally the backbone of this genre, will show up in force over the remainder of the holiday frame.

POPULAR ON THE CINEMA GROUP

Financial stakes are meaningful. Warner Bros. and partner MRC reportedly spent around $80 million to secure global rights to the film, making theatrical performance particularly important. Overseas, the studio is forecasting roughly $40 million for the international launch, which would bring the global start near $80 million — solid but not runaway.

Elsewhere in the holiday marketplace, Sony Pictures Animation’s family film GOAT is exceeding internal expectations with a projected $25 million four-day debut and an A CinemaScore, positioning it as a potential word-of-mouth player. Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios’ ensemble crime thriller Crime 101 is pacing slightly behind forecasts with an estimated $13.8 million four-day opening despite strong reviews and a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than its competitors.

For Wuthering Heights, the next 48 hours are critical. Valentine’s Day weekend has historically been kind to adult-skewing romances, and late-breaking date-night traffic could still shift the narrative. But the early signs suggest that while the film has heat, its staying power will depend heavily on whether audiences ultimately embrace Fennell’s intentionally divisive vision.

In today’s theatrical marketplace, opening weekend headlines matter — but legs matter more. And right now, Wuthering Heights still has something to prove.