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.
“It’s been a rather slow first quarter,” Dergarabedian said. “But this could ignite a spark at the 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.
Director Emerald Fennell, from left, Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie pose for photographers at the photo call for the film "Wuthering Heights" in London, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Photo by Millie Turner/Invision/AP)
MILAN (AP) — Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won South America's first Winter Olympics gold medal. Now he's going for a second. Also on Day 10 of the Milan Cortina Games, Eileen Gu is aiming for gold in the ski big air competition.
Here is a guide of what to look out for on Monday:
Viewers around the world can watch on official broadcasters, including NBC and streaming on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms.
It’s going to be a showdown between two friends and two racers who were members of the same ski club as kids.
There is of course Pinheiro Braathen, who once raced for Norway, but now skies for Brazil. He’s going for a second gold. There’s also his friend Atle Lie McGrath of Norway.
They were teammates as kids in Norway. They are 1-2 in the standings on the World Cup circuit in the slalom. McGrath is racing with a heavy heart. He lost his grandfather on the day of the opening ceremonies.
It's the second of three medal shots for Gu, but the San Francisco-born Chinese skier's ambition comes at a cost.
Gu started her Olympics with silver in slopestyle, losing out to Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud for the second Olympics running.
Heading into the big air final, Gu said she's being “punished” by officials who refused to allow her extra training time for her third and final event, the halfpipe. The big air final clashes with halfpipe training, so Gu's rivals will get more time to practice.
The United States has surged through the women's hockey tournament, winning all of its five games and allowing just one goal. Now to guarantee a medal.
The U.S. takes on the other 5-0 team in the tournament, Sweden. “Captain Clutch” Marie-Philip Poulin returned from a knee injury in Canada's quarterfinal game. Her team now plays Switzerland for a place in the gold medal game.
Arianna Fontana has 13 career Olympic medals and is already the most decorated short-track speedskater of all time. The women's 1,000 meters offers her the chance of a 14th. There's also medals on offer in pairs figure skating.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin (29) celebrates with Sarah Fillier (10) and Renata Fast (14) after Poulin scored against Germany during the third period of a women's ice hockey quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
China's Eileen Gu waits for her score as she competes in the women's freestyle skiing big air qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen listens to the national anthem as he wears his gold medal for an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Switzerland's Michael Fora, left, challenges Canada's Connor McDavid during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Canada and Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands celebrates winning the gold medal in the women's 1,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Canada's Mikael Kingsbury celebrates his silver medal in the men's freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
FILE - Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, celebrates after winning the men's cross-country skiing sprint classic at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Feb. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin crosses the finish line of an alpine ski, women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
United States' Laila Edwards (10) celebrates a goal with goaltender Aerin Frankel (31) during third period against Canada during the third period of a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Australia's Scotty James competes during the men's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Ilia Malinin of the United States does a back flip while competing during the men's figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Italy's Amos Mosaner, left, and Stefania Constantini strategize during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Norway at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Breezy Johnson of the United States reacts in the finish area of the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott, Keystone via AP)
FILE - Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States adjusts her face mask before heading to the gondola to go up the alpine ski course for a training run at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 10, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
United States' Aerin Frankel, right, celebrates with teammates after a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands warms up during a speedskating training session, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States react to their scores after competing during the figure skating ice dance team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
FILE -Gold medal winner Ester Ledecka, of the Czech Republic, celebrates after the women's parallel giant slalom at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
United States' Lindsey Vonn in action during alpine ski women's downhill training, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
United States' Lindsey Vonn smiles during a press conference by the U.S. ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
United States cross country athletes, from left, Novie McCabe, Jessie Diggins, Sammy Smith, Julia Kern, Rosie Brennan and Hayiley Swirlbul pose for photos before a cross country training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
United States' Hayley Scamurra, left, celebrates after scoring her side's fifth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's downhill official training, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ilia Malinin, of the United States, practices during a figure skating training session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
