‘Wuthering Heights’ soars at UK-Ireland box office with £7.6m opening weekend; ‘GOAT’ tops ‘Crime 101’

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Emerald Fennell’s Emily Bronte adaptation Wuthering Heights took flight at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend with a £7.6m start.

The Warner Bros title took an excellent £10,030 location average, even given its 761-site release – the second-widest ever for a non-event release in the territory.

Wuthering Heights brought in £7.7m, including previews. Its opening both with and without previews is ahead of those of fellow romantic titles La La Land  (£6.6m) and Titanic (£4.9m), as well as period pieces such as Downton Abbey  (£5.2m) and literary adaptations including Pride & Prejudice  (£2.5m).

It is already Fennell’s highest-grossing film ever in the UK & Ireland, topping the £5.6m total of 2023’s Saltburn; and a highest-grossing credited role ever for Jacob Elordi, who plays Heathcliff.

It is also the biggest opening of 2026 to date, with more than double the £3m start of Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet.

Sony animated adventure GOAT opened with £2.2m from 673 locations at a £3,296 average - a strong showing in the context of Wuthering Heights’s dominance. Tyree Dillihay and Adam Rosette’s animal sports title took £3.5m including previews.

Amazon MGM title Crime 101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan and Halle Berry opened to £1.3m from 525 sites, at a £2,419 average, with distribution handled by Sony. Including previews, Bart Layton’s film has £1.4m.

Sam Raimi’s horror Send Help dropped 41% on its second session, adding £789,349 to hit £3.1m for Disney.

The Housemaid is now Lionsgate’s third-highest grossing film of all time in the UK & Ireland with £31m, having overtaken La La Land  (£30.6m) and just £60,000 behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1  (£31.1m). It added £553,625 on its eighth weekend in cinemas – a drop of just 40%, that is a strong result in the Wuthering Heights context.

Wuthering Heights pushed takings for the top five titles up 161% to £12.5m – the highest level since the first weekend of the year. Audiences have the option of a Charli XCX double bill next weekend, with the first holdover session of Wuthering Heights – for which Charli wrote an original soundtrack album – and Universal’s mockumentary The Moment, about the artist.

Audiences stay at the Zoo

Zootropolis 2 proved a key counter-programming option to Wuthering Heights, falling just 26% on its 12^th weekend in cinemas with £448,347 taking it to £33.9m for Disney.

Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet leads Universal’s slate, with £353,237 on its sixth weekend in cinemas. The drama experienced its biggest drop to date with a 58% fall on its previous session, but is still up to an excellent £17.5m.

Corin Hardy’s horror Whistle started with £233,000 from 300 sites at a £777 location average for Black Bear.

A ninth weekend of Disney’s Avatar: Fire And Ash saw it fall back 49%, with the film adding £196,227 to hit £42.2m total for Disney.

Black Bear’s Shelter starring Nicolas Cage added £144,000 on its third weekend – a 70% drop that took it to £2.3m total.

Marty Supreme starring awards contender Timothee Chalamet added £141,331 on its eighth weekend – a 67% drop that brought it to a strong £15.9m for Entertainment Film Distributors, the 13^th -highest-grossing title ever for the company.

Bakrania Media’s Indian crime drama O’Romeo started with £116,125 from 125 locations at a £968 average.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search For Squarepants has now been in cinemas for eight weekends for Paramount, adding £85,000 on its latest session to hit £8.5m total.

Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice leads Mubi’s slate, adding £75,632 on its fourth weekend to hit £1.7m total.

Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up opened to £66,103 for Vertigo Releasing, from 518 sites at a £128 average. Including previews it has £135,707.

Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple added £62,151 on its fifth weekend, and is up to £7.7m for Sony.

Animation Stitch Head started with £61,900 from 505 sites at a £123 average. Including previews the film is up to £264,000 for Kazoo Films.

Experimental ballet triptych Woolf Works – ROH took £59,280 at the weekend for Trafalgar Releasing, and has £263,923 in total including prior screenings.

Studiocanal’s family-friendly animal adventure Kangaroo added £50,360 on its third weekend, and is up to £563,737 in total.

Philippa Lowthorpe’s H Is For Hawk added £46,485 on its fourth session for Lionsgate, and is up to £1.2m total.

Magic Light Pictures’ UK independent animation The Scarecrows’ Wedding held better than most titles, falling just 25% on its second session with £45,577 taking it to £126,756 total.

Kleber Mendonca Filho’s The Secret Agent has got off to a fast start from previews alone, ahead of its opening next Friday, February 20. The Cannes title brought in £44,837 in previews this weekend; including a huge £13,800 screen average from three sites in Ireland. In total it has £128,756 already in previews for Mubi.

Hasan Hadi’s Iraqi Oscar entry The President’s Cake made a strong start for Curzon, with £40,888 from just 31 sites at a £1,319 average. Including previews, the Cannes 2025 title is up to £54,472.

The Strangers – Chapter 3 fell 79% on its second weekend, adding £37,256 to hit £316,329 for Lionsgate.

Concert film STRAY KIDS: The dominATE Experience cut back its screenings from the previous weekend and fell away sharply for Universal, with a 97% drop, £35,887 session and £1.2m total.

Paramount’s Primate climbed to £1.3m after a £34,000 third weekend.

Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow put on £30,799 on its second weekend - a 47% drop – and is up to £179,312 for Mubi.

Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On? starring Will Arnett dropped back 83% on its third weekend for Disney, with £30,183 contributing to a £1.2m total.

Oscar-nominated animation Little Amelie opened to £27,150 from 234 sites at a £116 average for Vue Lumière, with £48,837 including previews.

Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value added a further £17,761 on its eighth session in cinemas, taking it to £1.4m total for Mubi.

Anaconda starring Jack Black added £15,644 on its eighth weekend for Sony, and is up to £5.7m total.

Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson dropped 78% on its seventh weekend in cinemas for Universal, with £12,452 taking it to £3.3m total.

Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague put on £10,412 on its third weekend for Altitude, and has £299,526 in total.

AA Films UK’s Indian title Border 2 is now through a fourth weekend in cinemas, adding £10,193 on its latest session to hit £660,185, released by Bakrania Media.

Oliver Hermanus’s The History Of Sound fell back 69% on its fourth session, and is up to £8,861 for Universal.

Hamlet starring Riz Ahmed dropped back 90% on its second weekend for Universal, and with £5,518 taking it to a £111,132 total.

Mercy starring Chris Pratt added £2,819 on its fourth session for Amazon MGM, handled by Sony. It is up to £1.2m total.

Amy Berg’s documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley started with £102,116 including previews for Piece Of Magic Entertainment, with further booking across the coming weeks.

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