411 Box Office Report: Wuthering Heights Beats GOAT To Conquer the Weekend

Gothic romance led the box office this weekend, with Wuthering Heights claiming victory in the Presidents Day frame. Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of the Emily Bronte classic led the way with a $34.8 million take over three days and $40 million through Monday. That’s about where the big-budget romantic drama was expected to land coming into the weekend. It’s Fennell’s best start by a lot, beating out Saltburn $11.4 million wide release opening in November of 2023.

Romantic dramas have had a little bit of a drought in the past few years. Outside of October’s Regretting You, the genre hasn’t had a successful major release since It Ends With Us became a smash hit (and then a tabloid hit for the lawsuit surrounding it) in August of 2024. But Wuthering Heights had the benefit of a well-known story and hot casting in Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the latter fresh off his Frankenstein success. And of course, the Valentine’s Day weekend helped.

The film has been received okay by critics, though not with a ton of overall enthusiasm at a 63% aggregate critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences like but don’t love it at a B CinemaScore (the same as Regretting You) and an 81% RT audience score. Those are perfectly acceptable metrics, though it must be said that the higher marketing hype around Wuthering Heights may show the film to be a touch more front-loaded.

There’s also an elephant in the room to discuss in the budget. Wuthering Heights cost a reported $80 million to produce, far more than Regretting You and It Ends With Us. However, it’s off to a solid start as it added $42 million overseas for an $82 million worldwide gross. If it can manage decent box office legs – quite possible as it has no direct competition – it should be able to get to over $100 million in the US and perhaps more. If it does so both here and abroad, it should ultimately be successful for Warner Bros.

GOAT may have come in at #2, but it wasn’t slouching. The animated family sports comedy took in $26 million through Sunday and $32 million over four days. Much like Wuthering Heights, that’s a solid if unspectacular start for an $80 million film.

GOAT is fairing better with critics than its bodice-ripping competition; the Sony Pictures release has an 80% RT critic score, a 93% RT audience score and an A CinemaScore. Those are all good metrics for a film that landed right where it was expected to. It has added $15.6 million overseas for a $47.6 million worldwide start. This one should be in okay shape if the legs hold out as they’re expected to; an $80 million to $85 million domestic total should be doable.

The third of the new releases to chart was the detective thriller Crime 101 from Amazon MGM Studios. The film, which stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Halle Berry, opened slightly above expectations with $15.1 million in three days and $17.8 million in four. That’s the lowest start for a Hemsworth starrer since Bad Times at the El Royale flopped to a $7.1 million start on its way to $17.8 million domestically.

Crime 101 does have a massive budget, much like the top two new releases. The film cost a reported $90 million – but remember, Amazon MGM makes films like this for Prime Video, and the theatrical release is a loss leader to boost marketing. Amazon wished it did better of course, but this is not the kind of film you open in theaters expecting for blockbuster numbers.

Crime 101 is doing okay overseas, taking in $12 million domestically for a $29.8 million worldwide opening. Even with an 85% RT critic score, an 84% RT audience score, and a B CinemaScore, this isn’t likely to be a film with great legs. It should close out around $50 million to $60 million.

The holdovers from the box office did well, as tends to happen in post-Super Bowl weekend. They were led by Send Help, which was down a mere 1% with $9 million through Sunday and $10.7 million through Sunday. The darkly comedic Sam Raimi thriller is in prime shape at this point with $49.6 million domestically and $73.8 million against a $40 million production budget. As we stand, the film could make it to the $70 million mark in the US although $65 million seems a bit more likely if it suffers the expected heavier drop next frame. Either way, that’s going to be a hit for 20th Century Studios.

Angel Studios’ Solo Mio benefitted from the Valentine’s Day weekend to drop just 3% in its second frame to $6.8 million ($8 million through Monday). That puts the romcom at $18.5 million, already a hit against its $4 million budget. It’s looking likely for around $30 million or perhaps a bit more by the time it closes out.

Zootopia 2 keeps delivering, with the animated blockbuster off a mere 6% in its 12th weekend to $3.8 million over three days and $5 million over four. Disney Animation’s film now has $420.6 million domestically and $1.830 billion worldwide and is more or less sure to pass Lilo & Stitch ($423.8 million) and A Minecraft Movie ($424.1 million) as the highest domestic grossing film of 2025. Its budget was a mere $150 million so yeah, this made a ton of money.

One more new release made it into the top 10 with Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Gore Verbinksi’s comedic sci-fi film did better than most expected, tallying $3.6 million through Sunday and $4.1 million through Monday.

The film marks Verbinski’s first in nine years, the last one being the ill-fated psychological horror flick A Cure for Wellness. That film started off with a bit more at $4.4 million, but it was also a major studio release (20th Century Fox) and thus more heavily promoted. Don’t Die was released by Briarcliff Entertainment and was never going to be a chart topper.

The film has been well liked by critics with an 84% RT score, while those who saw it liked it with an 88% RT audience score and B CinemaScore. The budget for the film was $20 million but this is an indie film that will seek to make its money back on overseas sales and digital revenue. Domestically it should make it to around $8 million to $10 million.

Avatar: Fire & Ash was off a mere 4% in its ninth weekend with $3.3 million over three days and $3.8 million over four. The film will close over $400 million stateside as it now has $396.6 million domestically and $1.460 billion worldwide, profitable against a $400 million production budget.

Iron Lung had the biggest drop in the top 10, down 45% to $3.3 million ($3.7 million through Monday). The Markiplier-released film is in fine shape though, with $37.9 million stateside and $43.5 million worldwide against a $3 million budget. It’s still likely to close out at around $42 million.

Luc Besson’s Dracula was off 32% in its second weekend, bringing in $3 million ($3.6 million through Monday). The romantic take on the vampire story is now at $9.6 million in the US and $38.8 million worldwide, now likely to end its run around $13 million to $15 million.

Wuthering Heights has a good shot at holding on for a second frame next weekend as its competition is somewhat mild. Opening is the faith-based sequel I Can Only Imagine 2, targeting a mid-to-high teens start, and A24’s comedic thriller How to Make a Killing aiming at $8 million to $10 million.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Wuthering Heights – $34.8 million ($40 million total, $82 million WW)
2. GOAT – $26 million ($32 million total, $47.6 million WW)
3. Crime 101 – $15.1 million ($17.8 million total, $29.8 million WW)
4. Send Help – $9 million ($49.6 million total, $73.8 million WW)
5. Solo Mio – $6.8 million ($18.5 million total, $18.5 million WW)
6. Zootopia 2 – $3.8 million ($420.6 million total, $1.830 billion WW)
7. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die – $3.6 million ($4.1 million total, $4.1 million WW)
8. Avatar: Fire & Ash – $3.3 million ($396.6 million total, $1.460 billion WW)
9. Iron Lung – $3.3 million ($37.9 million total, $43.5 million WW)
10. Dracula – $3 million ($9.6 million total, $38.8 million WW)