Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are heating up the Valentine’s Day weekend box office with their new take on “Wuthering Heights,” an R-rated romantic drama directed by Emerald Fennell (“Saltburn,” “Promising Young Woman”).
“Wuthering Heights” has made $3 million at the box office in Thursday previews. It’s expected to make between $50 million and $55 million over the extra-long President’s Day weekend. Internationally, it’s on track to add $30 million to $40 million, which is a strong start for the $80 million-budgeted Warner Bros. film.
After producing “Promising Young Woman” and “Saltburn,” Robbie finally stars in one of Fennell’s movies as Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw in this adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel. The high-society Cathy falls for the lower-class Heathcliff, played by “Euphoria” and “Frankenstein” star Elordi, in this more erotic, steamy take on the classic tale. The cast also includes Hong Chau, Owen Cooper, Shazad Latif, Ewan Mitchell, Alison Oliver and Martin Clunes.
“Wuthering Heights” will easily take the No. 1 spot after a particularly barren winter box office and beat its fellow newcomers this weekend. Sony Pictures Animation’s “Goat,” a family-friendly, talking-animal story about a basketball-playing goat, is on track for second place with $20 million to $25 million. It made $1 million in previews. The animated film stars Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry and features the voices of several other NBA and WNBA players.
Also opening this weekend is Amazon MGM’s heist thriller, “Crime 101,” starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo and Barry Keoghan. It made $1 million in previews and is on track for third place with $15 million to $17 million.