Box Office Report for the Week of February 15

This Valentine’s Day weekend, there was an embarrassment of riches for moviegoers of all walks of life to see a film catered to their tastes. Did they want to be driven mad by Emerald Fennell’s take on Emily Brontë‘s Wuthering Heights, or perhaps explore the seedy Los Angeles criminal underworld of Crime 101? There was truly something for everyone this weekend, and the spread they’ve all enjoyed is a testament to how diverse (and competitive) the landscape was for the first time in a (very) long time.

Unfortunately for Wuthering Heights, the film fell short of expectations at the box office. While it is Warner Bros. ‘ ninth number-one opener in a row, Fennell’s “interpretation” of the source material was expected to open domestically at $50 million, but the mixed reception among critics and audiences might have given some moviegoers second thoughts. It ultimately grossed $34.8 million domestically, for a global total of $76.8 million. This is not bad, considering that its budget was $80 million, but it’s much lower than the studio had anticipated.

Sony Pictures Animation finally returned to the big screen for the first time since Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse with GOAT, and the film performed quite well, with the biggest opening for an original animated film since 2017’s Coco, at $26 million domestically, and $48 million globally. Strong reviews and positive word-of-mouth might have helped, but Stephen Curry is such a household name in basketball that his brand recognition might also have benefited the film.

Meanwhile, Bart Layton‘s Crime 101 overperformed in its opening weekend, with a $15.1 million domestic tally and $27.1 million globally. For an R-rated film with little promotional awareness, the all-star cast and good reviews might have definitely bolstered its success, but movies like these usually fare well on the big screen and have strong legs, as evidently illustrated with Den of Thieves 2: Pantera‘s surprise hit last year.

The biggest loser of the weekend, sadly, is Gore Verbinski, whose return from director’s jail with Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, performed quite badly commercially, making a meager $3.7 million domestically, for a budget of $20 million. Because its budget was not as considerable as, say, The Lone Ranger, which is highly cited as one of the biggest box office flops of all time, it might not hurt as much, but it’s still a soul-crushing disappointment for a filmmaker who is constantly praised as one of the best in the business. Reviews were also quite strong, but the bigger titles definitely had the upper hand this time around.

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Wuthering Heights (Warner Bros.): $34.8M – 3,682 theatres
2. GOAT (Sony): $26.0M – 3,863 theatres
3. Crime 101 (Amazon MGM Studios): $15.1M – 3,161 theatres
4. Send Help (Disney): $8.9M (-1%) – 2,975 theatres
5. Solo Mio (Angel Studios): $6.4M (-9%) – 3,000 theatres
6. Zootopia 2 (Disney): $3.7M (-6%) – 2,200 theatres
7. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (Briarcliff Entertainment): $3.6M – 1,610 theatres
8. Avatar: Fire and Ash (Disney): $3.3M (-4%) – 1,650 theatres
9. Iron Lung (Independent Films): $3.1M (-54%) – 2,445 theatres
10. Dracula (Vertical Entertainment): $3.0M (-32%) – 1,787 theatres

Source: Comscore