Jacob Elordi’s Controversial Film Dethroned: Animated Underdog Takes Lead in Week 2!

Wuthering Heights will not surpass GOAT this weekend.

Directed by Emerald Fennell, the polarizing adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which faced backlash for casting Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff instead of a person of color, premiered on Valentine’s Day weekend against Sony Pictures Animation’s latest offering, the animated sports movie GOAT. Wuthering Heights opened at No. 1, raking in $32.8 million—the highest domestic opening of 2026—while GOAT closely followed with $27.2 million.

As of now, the two films are expected to switch rankings this weekend. According to Deadline, by Sunday morning, projections show that Wuthering Heights will accrue $14.2 million over three days at domestic box offices by weekend’s end. It has been competing tightly with GOAT, which is now forecast to earn $17 million.

This shift is due to Wuthering Heights experiencing a 57% drop week-over-week, while GOAT sees a more modest decline of 38%. This trend isn’t surprising as animated films usually enjoy a gradual decline, whereas Wuthering Heights benefited from its initial Valentine’s Day release.

Both movies had similar production budgets of around $80 million, setting their estimated break-even points potentially near $200 million each. However, they both appear on track to reach this target by their final showings. In fact, Wuthering Heights has already amassed $60 million domestically and more than double that globally.

On another note, the faith-based musical biopic sequel I Can Only Imagine 2, the sole new major release playing in over 2,000 theaters, is poised to debut at No. 3 with an expected $8 million.

This opening is significantly lower than the $17.1 million opening weekend of the original I Can Only Imagine back in 2018. That film was an unexpected success, earning $86 million on a modest $7 million budget.

Although the sequel’s budget has increased to $18 million, it remains relatively low for a modern release. Despite lower initial earnings, there’s still considerable potential for profitability over its theatrical lifespan.

Together, Wuthering Heights, GOAT, and I Can Only Imagine 2 have contributed to a total domestic box office of $75.4 million this weekend. This figure is only 3% below the post-Presidents’ Day weekend in 2025, which was the second weekend of Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World.

Top 5 at the Domestic Box Office This Weekend

Below, find the detailed Top 5 domestic chart for this weekend:

With only one new title entering the chart, only one previous holder has exited the Top 5. That was the Kevin James romantic comedy Solo Mio, which dropped from No. 5 to No. 8 in its third weekend, decreasing by 59%. It fell behind new entries How to Make a Killing (a modest $3.56 million in 1,625 theaters) and EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (a solid $3.25 million in 325 theaters).

Meanwhile, the ensemble crime thriller Crime 101 and Sam Raimi’s Send Help each fell one spot, with declines of 59% and 49% respectively. If Send Help continues to experience such minor week-over-week drops, it may eventually surpass Crime 101.

Wuthering Heights and GOAT have dominated their second weekend, but they are likely to be overtaken by Scream 7, expected to launch next weekend with an impressive three-day gross over $45 million.