We’re still a month away from Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights,” which opens on Valentine’s Day, but there are a few updates concerning this latest adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel.
Firstly, the film is officially in the can — yesterday, it earned an “R” rating from the MPA for “sexual content.” Not shocking. Test screenings had mentioned the notable amount of hyper-sexualized imagery — far more explicit than any previous adaptation of this material.
Furthermore, the film runs at around 135 minutes. Just to compare, Andrea Arnold’s 2011 take on the novel ran for 129 minutes. There’s a lot of material to cover in the book, so this checks out as well. Although, by all accounts, Fennell will be taking her fair share of liberties with the story.
Finally, tracking is all over the place on this one. The “official” numbers tell us it’ll open in the $20–25M range, while the reliable EmpireCity Box Office predicts a “smash hit” for Warner Bros in the $50M range. It’s anybody’s guess at this point.
“Wuthering Heights” has a production/distribution budget reported at around $80M. That figure largely reflects the deal Warner Bros. struck to acquire and back the film after a competitive bidding war — including a higher reported offer of around $150M from Netflix that Fennell and her producers ultimately declined in favor of a theatrical rollout.
Fennell, known for “Saltburn” and “Promising Young Woman,” has said Brontë’s gothic classic “cracked me open” when she read it at 14. “I’ve been obsessed. I’ve been driven mad by this book,” Fennell said. She’s assembled a cast for her take which includes Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as the leads.
Warner Bros. has set up a February 13, 2026 release for “Wuthering Heights.”