I sure hope your Valentine’s Day was a lot more satisfying than mine. Once again, it was reduced to a virtual experience for me, long after both COVID and my alibi for a marriage had their expiration dates. At least there’s someone in my life who actually wished that to me and meant it, which I suppose many of you would consider progress. You’d be right, of course, but that’s not a reality check I wanted to experience on a day that’s also National Condom Day.
So I hope you’ll understand that I’m giving a pass for now to what a plurality of those who did schlep out chose on this holiday weekend, another reality check which THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Lindsay Bahr touted yesterday afternoon:
Emerald Fennell’s bold reimagining of “Wuthering Heights” brought crowds of women to movie theaters this weekend. The Warner Bros. release topped the box office charts and nabbed the title for the year’s biggest opening with $34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday… By the end of Monday’s Presidents Day holiday, the total could rise to $40 million from its 3,682 locations….”Wuthering Heights” is also performing even better internationally, where it’s expecting to rake in an additional $42 million from 76 territories.
No, I wasn’t a part of all of this; but then again, I’m apparently as out of this particular demo as I am anything out there. Here’s how THE WAKEUP’s Sean McNulty broke that down:
OPENING NIGHT DEMOS:
76% women / 24% men
- 53% of the audience was 18-34 for the weekend.
- 54% of women came with 1-4 friends.
- Only 22% were on a date night.
And just look at how VARIETY’s Rebecca Rubin put into context what to her constitutes “bold reimagining”.
(S)tarring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the bold and steamy remake of Emily Brontë’s classic novel follows a toxic relationship between star-crossed lovers Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in 18th century England.
McNulty couldn’t resist getting in his own minority dissention, either:
This is a pretty dark movie overall — forbidden romance, sure . . . but also pretty twisted and dour ultimately.
So it turns out this was as much a Galentine’s Day play as anything else. And per a few more datecdotes dimes dropped by Bahr, unlike Heathcliff and Catherine this might not have great legs:
Fennell’s version…which takes many liberties with Emily Brontë’s novel, largely divided critics. It’s currently sitting at a mixed 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. While that didn’t dissuade audiences from buying tickets, only 51% of the opening weekend audience said that they would “definitely recommend” the film to friends. Moviegoers also gave it a less-than-stellar B CinemaScore.
And that matters because of these other cold showers Bahr threw into the equation:
The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported $80 million to produce, not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion…The success comes while the future of Warner Bros. hangs in the balance, as Paramount continues to sweeten its hostile takeover bid in hopes of winning out over Netflix.
So it’s gonna take another box office surge to make this a true love story for those for the more pragmatic souls out there. And that seems all the less likely considering that there’s essentially the same sort of catnip out there for Galentines to savor without leaving the comfort of their own caves. Rubin’s colleague Selome Hailu gave that reality check earlier this month:
Season 4 of “Bridgerton” debuted with 39.7 million views in its first four days of streaming, making it the most-watched title on Netflix during the week of Jan. 27 to Feb. 1. That’s a 12% decrease from the 2024 release of Season 3, which achieved the show’s best-ever opening with 45.1 million views, but still a generally strong showing for the Regency-era drama. Season 3 went on to spend 11 weeks in the Netflix Top 10 and remains the streamer’s No. 9 most popular English-language series of all time with 106 million views in its first 91 days, so Season 4 still has months to continue growing its audience.
And thanks once again to some savvy scheduling on the part of the Netflix braintrust (take a bow, Andy Kubitz, you weren’t going to rest on STANGER THINGS’ laurels, were you?), they’re all the more likely to hit those heights. Especially if DISTRACTIFY’s Elizabeth Randolph is even close to representing the voice of the fangirls:
The romance between Benedict and Sophie was enthralling to watch in the first half of the season, causing fans to wonder when we’ll get to see what happens in part 2. New episodes of Bridgerton Season 4 part 2 will premiere on Feb. 26, 2026, about a month after the first set of episodes aired. Part 2 will pick up where the first half of the season left off, which showed the growth of Benedict and Sophie’s relationship. On Feb. 5, 2026, the trailer for part 2 dropped and showed that the lovers still have a long journey ahead of them since we last left them in the mid-season finale.
The trailer expresses the desire Benedict and Sophie share for one another, despite all of the drama we’ve seen from them so far. The scene opens with them staring at one another in a dimly lit room as Benedict inches closer towards her. Then, the two share a steamy kiss and appear to be naked as Sophie lets her hair down before the trailer closes.
The sultry teaser shows that their relationship will continue to flourish past their beginning stages of their love story. After meeting at a masquerade ball in part 1 of the series, where he’s mesmerized by her as the “Lady in Silver,” Benedict hires her as his maid, which is when their relationship heats up. After a passionate encounter on his staircase, he asks her to consider being his mistress. And while Sophie is initially offended by the idea, the trailer shows that she eventually comes around. Pun intended.
If apparently the secret sauce to success this year is period piece porn, feel free to liberally pour it on your Ben and Jerry’s. And remember the quart you can get from your supermarket will fill any void more completely and cost-effectively that the overpriced pints that your local chain theatre could. Based on my own experience, that’s an adequate way to get through any toxic relationship.
Until next time…