Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Wuthering Heights has topped the UK box office with £7.7m over its opening weekend, outperforming expectations on home turf. The film, shot in the Yorkshire Dales by a British director and featuring a largely UK cast, benefited from strong pre-sales and Valentine's weekend demand.
The film's £10,030 site average across 761 sites already surpasses the £5.6m total UK box office of Fennell's previous film, Saltburn, and last year's romantic drama Materialists (£3.9m). However, it falls short of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which opened with £11.8m over Valentine's weekend last year.
Despite lukewarm reviews, the film's box office success may be short-lived, as Warner Bros expects a significant second-week dropoff due to the concentration of pre-release bookings around Valentine's. In the US, word-of-mouth is weaker, with only 51% of opening-weekend audiences saying they would 'definitely recommend' the film, and a CinemaScore of B.
Second and third place at the UK box office went to family sports animation GOAT (£2.2m) and acclaimed drama Crime 101 (£1.4m).
