2/13-2/15: WUTHERING HEIGHTS Lifts the Box Office over Valentine’s Day
Warner Bros.’ romantic drama WUTHERING HEIGHTS finished in first place at the box office by opening with $34.8M over the holiday weekend. With additional support coming from Sony’s animated family film GOAT and Amazon MGM’s mystery CRIME 101, all films produced a total of $119.2M. This is a huge improvement over last weekend’s paltry $60.8M, which was held down by the distractions of the Super Bowl.
Despite this being a much higher-earning weekend than last weekend, it was well short of last year’s $154.1M at this same time, buoyed by $88.8M from the opening of Marvel’s CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. As of last Thursday, the current year’s box office was running 11% ahead of last year. However, this weekend’s shortfall could be enough to drag the 2026 year-to-date total below last year’s at this time.
Even if that happens, the remaining six weeks of the first quarter are looking up, especially when compared with 2025. We have high hopes for SCREAM 7 (2/27), HOPPERS (3/6), THE BRIDE (3/6), REMINDERS OF HIM (3/13) and especially PROJECT HAIL MARY (3/20) to finish off the quarter. Last year, the first quarter went into a nose dive after Valentine’s Day weekend and wound up as the lowest-grossing quarter of the post-pandemic era. We are projecting Q1 2026 to earn 15% more than last year’s Q1. This will be essential to put 2026 on pace to exceed $9B in annual box office.
FIRST PLACE
Warner Bros.’ romantic drama WUTHERING HEIGHTS was the top movie of the holiday weekend, earning $34.8M domestically and $76.8M worldwide in its debut. This is Warner Bros.’ first new release in 4 ½ months, with the last one being ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER which came out on September 26, 2025. We cannot remember the last time that a top Hollywood studio had such a hole in its release schedule. That said, WB has reasserted itself with another first-place finish, making it 9 movies in a row for the studio.
The new film is an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel published in 1847. All these years later, her book is still a staple of high school English Literature classes. Here is a look at the most popular English language novels from that period.
19th Century English Language Novels
Each of these classics has inspired multiple movie features. This is the fifth Wuthering Heights movie, with the 1939 film directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon as the best known of the bunch. When it was released, it was extremely well regarded and received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It had stiff competition that year, going up against GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ. The most successful box office performer of the 19th-century novels turned into movies was PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in 2005, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. That film grossed $38.6M domestically and $120.9M globally on a production budget of $28M, making for a profitable 4.7 to 1 ratio of worldwide gross to budget.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS was directed by 40-year-old Emerald Fennell, who has two prior theatrical features under her belt with PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020) and SALTBURN (2023). She won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for her work on PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN. Fennell is known for taking audiences through bold tonal shifts and providing provocative character studies with psychologically intense storytelling. The gothic romance is carried on screen by Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. Robbie is best known for BARBIE and THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, among many other leading roles. Elordi has made his fame in SALTBURN and HBO Max’s popular series ‘Euphoria.’
Set on the windswept moors of Yorkshire, the story follows two childhood companions whose intense bond blossoms into a volatile, obsessive love. Social class and personal pride drive Catherine to marry another, wealthy suitor, spurring Heathcliff when he returns years later seeking both love and vengeance. Their turbulent affair, suffused with jealousy and pain, unleashes destruction that echoes throughout their lives. The script preserves more of Emily Brontë’s nonlinear narrative structure than most previous adaptations. However, Fennell approached the novel as a psychological thriller disguised as a period romance. She emphasizes Heathcliff and Catherine’s co-dependence through tight close-ups, handheld confrontations, and lingering silences that feel volatile rather than tender. The moors appear as isolating and hostile, transforming this beautiful landscape into a menace. Interiors are dimly candlelit, creating claustrophobia and moral decay. Tensions simmer below the surface, making emotional eruptions feel dangerous and unpredictable.
Critics have been mixed about the effort, giving it a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences appear to have enjoyed it a bit more with an 81% rating. Here is a snapshot of what the critics have said. Newsday describes it as, “Swooning, steamy and more than a little kinky, with hot-blooded performances from its two ravishing stars.” Rolling Stone tells its readers, “Go batshit or go home. Fennell chooses the former, and flawed or not, this drunk-on-pheromones take is all the better for it.” The New York Post says, “This is a sexy, funny, ravishing and dark revision that keeps Heathcliff’s frightening obsessiveness, emotional toxicity and sadism intact while ably contorting the tale into a decadent, modern, yet still distinctly gothic, romance.” On the negative side, the Associated Press observes, “Fennell clearly has so many ideas swirling around, which is fitting for a story like Wuthering Heights.” And yet as a viewing experience, it is an under-nourishing feast, neither dangerous nor hot enough.”
It was an expensive movie to make, as the A-list cast in key roles and elaborate on-location shooting added up to an $80M production budget. Therefore, the movie will need to gross $200M worldwide to be profitable for its studio, and this could be a difficult number to reach. By comparison, the 2005 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE earned just about that much after adjusting its 2005 numbers for 20 years of inflation. We are using that 2005 film as a useful comparison, since both are gothic romance stories.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS vs. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
SECOND PLACE
Sony’s animated sports film GOAT finished in second place with an opening weekend of $26.0M domestically and $41.8M globally. The film is produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the studio behind SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE and KPOP DEMON HUNTERS. GOAT is an acronym for the phrase “Greatest-Of-All-Time,” and the movie personifies this nickname as a literal goat. The lead character of Will Harris is a small goat with big athletic dreams in a sport called Roarball, a high-intensity, coed, full-contact sport that mixes elements of basketball with exaggerated animal abilities. The film’s visual style leans into a comic-book aesthetic with dynamic camera work and bold textures, in the style of Sony’s Spider-Verse animation.
The movie evolved from a concept announced by Stephen Curry during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend. At a press conference, Curry explained that he drew a personal connection between this story’s underdog themes and his own basketball journey. Curry believed so strongly in the concept that he produced the film and voices one of its characters, a giraffe athlete named Lenny Williamson. The rest of the voice cast includes Jenifer Lewis, Aaron Pierre, Patton Oswalt, Bobby Lee, Andrew Santino, Sherry Cola, Don Cheadle, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Ayesha Curry, Angel Reese, and A’ja Wilson. Tyree Dillihay directed the film, and it is his theatrical debut. Previously, he has directed several episodes of The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers.
To go a bit deeper into the story, a small but determined goat named Will Harris dreams of playing professional Roarball, a high-flying, full-contact sport dominated by larger, more intimidating animals. Despite doubts about his size and strength, Will earns a roster spot on a struggling expansion team. Facing fierce rivals, skeptical teammates, and his own insecurities, he learns that heart and intelligence can outweigh brute force. Guided by veteran players and inspired by the meaning of “Greatest-Of-All-Time,” Will embraces teamwork and self-belief. In the climactic championship, he proves that greatness isn’t about size, it’s about courage, resilience, and never giving up. No wonder Curry relates to the story!
Critics are supporting the film with a 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences seemed charmed with a 93% score. Here are some of the critics’ thoughts. Variety calls it, “A vibrant surprise. It’s a highly original and rousing animated feature – a sports fable with a hip-hop vibe and an off-kilter cosmology.” The New York Times says, “It’s a story with few surprises and mostly rudimentary emotional concepts, but it is enlivened by artwork with colorful texture and a dynamic animation style.” The Wrap comments, “Say what you will about the premise, but if you think that’s all there is to ‘Goat,’ you’re going to bleat those words.” On the other side of the ledger, the Associated Press concludes, “Despite a wondrously textured, kinetic world and some interesting oddball characters, the movie is undone by a predictable, saccharine script. It’s as easy to see the steps coming as a Curry three-pointer arching into the net.”
GOAT was made on a production budget of $85M, which is not unreasonable for a first-class animation production in 2026. The movie will need to earn $213M worldwide to reach profitability, and after an opening weekend of $26.0M in North America, it will need to do well in international markets to make it. For a comparison film, we have chosen SPACE JAM from 1996. If you want to call yourself GOAT, you’d better be prepared to go up against the real basketball G.O.A.T., Michael Jordan, who costarred in that film. It also focused on a bunch of animated misfits, the Looney Tunes characters.
GOAT vs. SPACE JAM
THIRD PLACE
Amazon MGM’s action thriller, CRIME 101, was able to take third place in its first three days with $15.1M, which was in line with pre-release expectations. Directed by Bart Layton (American Animals from 2018), the film’s solid cast is led by Chris Hemsworth (THOR from 2011), who stars as an elusive thief, Mike Davis. Mark Ruffalo (SHUTTER ISLAND, 2010) plays Detective Lou Lubesnick, the cop obsessed with tracking him down. Halle Berry (MONSTERS BALL, 2001) portrays Sharon, a disillusioned insurance broker drawn into the crime world. The story is adapted from a 2020 novella by acclaimed crime author Don Winslow. The plot of the movie follows a disciplined jewel thief operating along California’s Highway 101 who executes high-end robberies guided by a strict personal code: no violence, no chaos, no mistakes. When an impulsive young criminal disrupts that order, a veteran detective begins closing in, convinced that the thefts are connected. As pressure from law enforcement and corporate interests mounts, loyalties fracture, and professional boundaries blur. Caught between ambition, romance, and survival, both hunter and hunted confront the cost of obsession. In a world of coastal wealth and hidden desperation, “Crime 101” becomes more than a method – it becomes a philosophy that is tested under fire.
The movie has received a thumbs up from both critics and audiences, scoring 87% and 84% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. Here are a few comments from reviewers. The Hollywood Reporter says, “Taken as a thriller, ‘Crime 101’ has its indulgences, but by the end it can stand as an advanced course in what underworld dreams are made of.” The Financial Times explains, “The film is manifestly aware of its ancestors, among them the Michael Mann canon, Walter Hill’s ‘The Driver’ and the Steve McQueen titles that are prominently namechecked. That’s some caliber; Crime 101 pretty compellingly measures up to it.” The New York Times shows fondness, saying, “Like lovingly warmed leftovers, it has its satisfactions: a charismatic cast, evocative Los Angeles location work, the sort of granular details on diamond couriering and insurance valuation that might give impressionable viewers ideas.”
CRIME 101 had a production cost of $90M, setting the bar at $225M in global ticket sales for profitability. After its so-so opening weekend, the film now has a tall order to reach that number. For a comparison movie, we have selected HEAT from 1995. That movie featured Robert De Niro as a thief and Al Pacino as an L.A. detective pursuing him relentlessly. Both movies are adult prestige crime thrillers that use L.A. as their setting, leading to a cat-and-mouse plot.
CRIME 101 vs. HEAT
FOURTH PLACE
SEND HELP from Disney and 20th Century Studios dropped from its first place standing in its first two weeks to fourth for this weekend. That said, it produced an additional $9.0M, only 1% lower than last weekend, bringing its 17-day total to $47.9M domestically. This film has been a bright spot on the release calendar, held out as validation of Disney’s strategy to release mid-budget, R-rated movies throughout the year. The film still has a ways to go before it hits Hulu, since it is still playing at 2,975 locations which is only 500 fewer theatres than when it opened. While in raw numbers it is doing better than its comparison picture MISERY, after adjusting the earlier film’s numbers for 35 years of inflation the 1990 MISERY comes out ahead.
SEND HELP vs. MISERY after 17 Days
FIFTH PLACE
Angel Studios’ SOLO MIO finishes fifth with $6.4M, bringing its 10-day totals to $16.9M domestically, with international distribution still pending. This film has already broken into Angel’s top five films of all time.
Angel Studios’ Top 5 Films of All Time
The other films on this list have religion-centered stories, and were targeted to members of the Christian community. While SOLO MIO was intended to appeal to this traditional audience as well, the rom-com story was also an attempt for Angel to reach a much broader audience. That said, we don’t imagine that Angel will be straying too far, with R-Rated content for example. The Angel Guild of super fans includes over 2,000,000 members, and has influence over future projects from the studio. We expect Angel’s movies will stay faithful to its traditional family values.
SOLO MIO vs. CHEF after 10 Days
Where Are We as of 2/12/2026
After the first six weeks of 2026, the current year’s domestic box office stands at 111% compared with 2025, 121% compared with 2024, and 104% compared with 2023.
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