- Wuthering Heights blew past its competitors to No. 1 at the domestic and global box offices, scoring $34.8 million at the former and $76.8 million at the latter.
- Sony Animation’s animated animal flick GOAT and the ensemble thriller Crime 101 tailed behind in the No. 2 and 3 spots, with $26 million and $15 million respectively, domestically.
- Next week, Wuthering Heights and GOAT‘s dominance seems assured, unless A24’s financial drama How to Make a Killing, starring Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley, can stage an upset.
Out on the wily, windy moors, a new box office queen was crowned!
Emerald Fennell’s slick and sexy new vision of Wuthering Heights was unleashed upon the world this weekend — and the world liked what it saw. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie lead the new adaptation, which soared to $34.8 million domestically and a remarkable $76.8 million globally, per Comscore.
At home, that figure does come in under projections, which ranged on the high end to $50 million and on the low end to $40 million. But the film right on target globally, with initial expectations pegged to $70-80 million. President’s Day, making this a four-day weekend, bumped up those projections, and by the time Monday comes and goes, the tortured Gothic romance soundtracked by Brat superstar Charli XCX may well meet them.
sony;amazon
The domestic box office this President’s Day weekend is noteworthy for being led by not one, not two, but three new releases. It’s been months since the theatrical scorecard was topped by so many films in their first weekend, as juggernauts like Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash have had the gold, silver, and bronze medals on lock for so long.
Following Wuthering Heights in the No. 2 spot domestically is GOAT, Sony Animation and Columbia’s Zootopia-esque new talking-animals flick featuring, produced by, and based on the life of NBA star Stephen Curry. GOAT earned $26 million domestically and $41.6 million around the world. Like the giraffe voiced by Curry, kid-friendly animated films tend to have long legs at the box office, meaning Wuthering Heights may have some serious competition in week 2 if another new release doesn’t come for them both.
In the No. 3 spot is Crime 101, another literary adaptation, which grossed $15 million at home and $27 million worldwide. Based on the novella by prolific crime writer Don Winslow, the film features an all-star ensemble, including Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte, dueling over jewels in the streets of Los Angeles.
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Elsewhere on the charts this weekend, Zootopia 2 entered its 12th weekend of box office glory, adding $3.7 million for a $419.3 million total domestically, and $15.4 million for a $1.8 billion total globally.
Sam Raimi’s return to horror, the survivalist thriller Send Help, stayed winning in the No. 4 spot with a $9 million week three domestic gross, for a total of $47.8 million. Luc Besson’s Dracula, however, appears to have premiered too quickly on the heels of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, as it only sank its teeth into $3 million domestically in week two, for a total pittance of $9 million.
Next week’s slate of new releases certainly threatens to skim some profit off the top of Wuthering Heights and GOAT‘s returns, but doesn’t seem poised to overtake them.
The pack includes the Malcolm McDowell slasher Psycho Killer, the period thriller The Dreadful, which reunites Game of Thrones stars Sophie Turner and Kit Harrington, and the Christian biopic I Can Only Imagine 2. But the most promising contender is How to Make a Killing, A24’s take on a Big Short or Wall Street-style financial drama, starring Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, and Ed Harris.