Margot Robbie's Romantic Thriller Overtakes Scarlett Johansson's Stellar World War II Movie at the Box Office

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Published Feb 19, 2026, 3:33 PM EST

Rohan Naahar is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Director Emerald Fennell’s controversial new film, Wuthering Heights, is expected to surpass the $100 million mark at the global box office before its second weekend. The film had a strong opening, surpassing three recent underperformers starring Margot Robbie — Amsterdam, Babylon, and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. Also featuring Jacob Elordi, the movie recouped its reported $80 million budget in just four days. While some have praised Fennell’s provocative interpretation of Emily Brontë’s novel, others have criticized her for misrepresenting its themes. Regardless, this attention is boosting the film’s commercial prospects, and it has now overtaken another period drama that divided audiences.

Wuthering Heights, now with a 59% score on Rotten Tomatoes, has entered “rotten" territory for the first time in its run. The aggregator website’s consensus 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.” Wuthering Heights is now officially the least-liked film of Fennell’s career as a director, which began with the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman. However, by the time she released her sophomore feature, the controversial Saltburn, some audiences have begun to turn against the gender politics of her first film.

Here's the Scarlett Johansson Movie That 'Wuthering Heights' Has Overtaken at the Box Office

Wuthering Heights has grossed $41 million domestically and $51 million internationally, for a cumulative global haul of around $95 million today. It should hit the $100 million mark worldwide by Friday. Given reported production costs of $80 million and an additional $100 million marketing budget, it has a long way to go before breaking even. However, the period romance has surpassed director Taika Waititi’s World War 2 satire Jojo Rabbit, which stars Scarlett Johansson in one of her best rolesand satirized Adolf Hitler by portraying him as a bumbling imaginary friend to a brainwashed young child. Jojo Rabbit won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, grossed $93 million against a $14 million budget in 2019, and holds an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s consensus reads, “Jojo Rabbit's blend of irreverent humor and serious ideas definitely won't be to everyone's taste — but either way, this anti-hate satire is audacious to a fault.”