‘Wuthering Heights’ Waltzes Past a Massive Box Office Milestone Despite Divisive Reviews

The controversial new film Wuthering Heights has hit its first major box-office milestone within 10 days of release in theaters worldwide. Directed by Emerald Fennell, the movie is a loose adaptation of Emily Brontë‘s landmark 19th-century novel, and stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the lead roles. Wuthering Heights has been adapted numerous times in the past, but never quite like this. Fennell’s version opened to divisive reviews, with some criticizing her baroque aesthetic while others slammed her for misinterpreting the novel’s themes. However, the movie seems to have struck a chord with its target audience; it recouped its reported budget in the first weekend and managed to overtake three of Robbie’s recent underperformers — Amsterdam, Babylon, and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey — in even less time.

The movie’s official Rotten Tomatoes score has been in free-fall. It debuted in the low-70s, but has now dropped into “rotten” territory for the first time in its run. Wuthering Heights is currently sitting at a 59% score, with a critics’ consensus that reads, “Liberally adapting Emily Brontë’s classic story with a heavy dose of carnality and chic stylization, Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights might not be the stuff of high literature, but it is a visually vibrant pleasure.” In her review, Collider’s Therese Lacson described the movie as “a jarring, vapid, and ultimately insulting experience.” However, the film’s 77% audience score suggests that there is a section of the crowd that seems to be enjoying it.

Here’s the Latest Box Office Benchmark ‘Wuthering Heights’ Has Passed

This section might even be the majority, considering the film’s most recent achievement. On the eve of entering its second weekend of release, Wuthering Heights passed the coveted $100 million mark at the worldwide box office. Most impressively, the domestic-to-overseas ratio is quite encouraging; the movie has grossed $45 million stateside and another $68 million from international markets for a cumulative worldwide haul of nearly $120 million. Wuthering Heights cost a reported $80 million to produce and a further $100 million to market, meaning that it needs to gross around $350 million worldwide to break even. Robbie and Fennell, in their capacity as producers, turned down a reported $150 million offer from Netflix in favor of a lower bid from Warner Bros. that guaranteed their movie a theatrical release and major publicity push. Also starring Shazad Latif and Alison Oliver, Wuthering Heights in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.