TL;DR — the direct answer: Wuthering Heights has stormed cinemas around the world. Emerald Fennell's new adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, took $76.8 million in its opening weekend — $34.8 million in North America and $42 million overseas — making it the year's biggest opening so far. Counting the full holiday weekend, the global total climbs to about $82 million.
What happened: The film opened in 3,682 cinemas across the United States and Canada, collecting $34.8 million — the top opening of the year to date. Overseas it beat forecasts, earning $42 million from 76 markets, including a strong $6.07 million Australian dollars in the stars' home country. The $76.8 million three-day global total rises to about $82 million when the full holiday weekend is counted. The distributor estimates the North American total will reach $40 million by the close of the extended weekend, and final four-day figures are due early next week.
Why it's trending: Two things make the debut remarkable. First, the scale: a period romance — not a superhero film, not a sequel — has delivered the biggest opening of the year, beating every franchise release of 2026 so far. Second, the film got there despite itself: it came in below some early projections of a $40–50 million domestic opening, and Fennell's reimagining has sharply divided reviewers, taking what the reports call significant creative liberties with Brontë's book. Audiences, it seems, did not care about the arguments. The film's stars — Robbie, who also produced, and Elordi, the Australian actor whose career has exploded since Euphoria — have become the story as much as the film.
Background / context: Fennell, who won an Oscar for Promising Young Woman, has built her directing career on provocative retellings, and Wuthering Heights is her boldest yet: a lush, modern-feeling take on the 1847 novel about Heathcliff and Catherine on the Yorkshire moors. The film still has major markets to open, including Japan and Vietnam on 27 February and China in mid-March, so the global total has a long way to run. The weekend's runners-up underline the scale of the win: GOAT, the family film executive-produced by basketball star Steph Curry, took about $26 million, and the thriller Crime 101, with Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, made around $15.1 million.
What we know / what's unconfirmed: Confirmed: the $76.8 million three-day global total, the $34.8 million North American opening from 3,682 cinemas, the $42 million from 76 international markets, the roughly $82 million four-day figure, and the upcoming openings in Japan, Vietnam and China. Unconfirmed: the final four-day domestic numbers, due early next week, and the longer question of whether the film has legs beyond its opening — the polarised reviews could cut either way, and the real test is the second weekend.
What happens next: All eyes are on the second weekend: if Wuthering Heights holds well, it becomes the defining box-office story of the autumn and a serious awards-season player. The international rollout continues into next year, with Japan, Vietnam and China still to open. And for the studios, the lesson is already being written — a literary adaptation with two stars and a distinctive director can out-open every franchise on the calendar.
Q: How much did Wuthering Heights make in its opening weekend?
A: $76.8 million worldwide in its first three days — $34.8 million in the US and Canada and $42 million from 76 international markets. Counting the full holiday weekend, the global total is about $82 million.
Q: Is that the biggest opening of 2026?
A: Yes — the $34.8 million North American opening is reported as the year's biggest opening so far, ahead of every franchise release of 2026 to date.
Q: Who stars in Wuthering Heights?
A: Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, directed by Emerald Fennell, who won an Oscar for Promising Young Woman. The film is a new adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel.
Q: Why have reviewers been divided?
A: Fennell's version takes significant creative liberties with Brontë's book, and critics have split over the changes — though audiences turned out in force regardless.
Q: Which markets are still to open?
A: Japan and Vietnam open on 27 February, and China follows in mid-March, so the film's global total still has a long way to run.
Sources: Pulsecore — The New Adaptation Rakes In a Massive $77M at International Box Office in Debut Weekend, Clear Online — Wuthering Heights Earns a Staggering $77M at International Box Office in Opening Weekend, and Fusion Palace — Wuthering Heights Rakes In a Staggering $77 Million at International Box Office in Opening Weekend.
Melanie Lynskey confirmed her peak Two and a Half Men pay was $43,000 per episode, not the viral $300,000 figure, following Holland Taylor's pay…
Martha Stewart apologised after backlash over dressing as a homeless person for Halloween on 31 October, saying she intended to raise awareness of…
Avengers: Doomsday is reported for release on 17 December, with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans sharing Diwali wishes, as reported on 31 October 2026…