Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' Hits HBO Max After $240M Box Office Run

Key facts

• Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff.
• The film grossed over $240 million worldwide after a February theatrical release by Warner Bros.
• Fennell turned down a $150 million offer from Netflix to take $80 million from Warner Bros. for a theatrical release.
• HBO Max will stream the film starting May 1, with a linear debut on HBO on May 2.
• The cast includes Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell.
• The film is produced by LuckyChap and MRC, with Fennell, Robbie, and Josey McNamara producing.
• David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it 'pulpy, provocative, drenched in blazing color and opulent design.'

A Provocative Take on a Literary Classic

Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' arrives on HBO Max on May 1, bringing its audacious, horny riff on Emily Brontë's 1847 novel to streaming audiences. The film, which stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, premiered theatrically on Feb. 13 and has since amassed over $240 million at the global box office. Fennell, known for 'Promising Young Woman' and 'Saltburn,' made a bold bet by turning down a $150 million offer from Netflix in favor of an $80 million budget from Warner Bros., insisting on a theatrical release. The gamble paid off, with the film becoming a worldwide hit and its lush, fog-drenched visuals praised as stunning on the big screen.

The Cast and Characters

Robbie plays Catherine Earnshaw, a spirited young woman torn between the lavish lifestyle offered by wealthy neighbor Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif) and her passionate, primal connection with Heathcliff, the orphan her father brought home. Elordi's Heathcliff is a brooding, muscular presence, described as looking like someone carved him out of oak. The supporting cast includes Hong Chau as Nelly, the handmaiden who encourages Cathy's match with Linton; Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton, whose obsessive fixation on Cathy provides dark comic relief; Martin Clunes as Cathy's drunken, spendthrift father; and Ewan Mitchell in an unspecified role.

Fennell's Signature Style: Fetishistic and Irreverent

Fennell's adaptation strips the novel to its bare bones, replacing period restraint with anachronistic flourishes, explicit sexuality, and grotesque imagery. The film opens with a public execution where the hanged man dies with an erection, sparking a citywide orgy. Later scenes include Cathy masturbating on the moors, Heathcliff fingering egg yolk, and walls modeled after Cathy's veiny, freckled skin. The director has never shied away from fetishistic elements, but 'Wuthering Heights' takes it further, featuring sloppy pig slaughter, snails leaving trails on windows, BDSM, and a soundtrack heavy with Charli XCX. The result, as David Rooney wrote, is 'Wuthering Heights for the Bridgerton generation, guaranteed to moisten tear ducts and inflame young hearts.'

Box Office Triumph and Streaming Release

Warner Bros. released the film theatrically on Feb. 13, and it surpassed $240 million globally, a strong return on its $80 million budget. The streaming release on HBO Max begins May 1, followed by a linear debut on HBO on May 2, which will also include a version with American Sign Language. Fennell wrote and directed the film, produced by LuckyChap and MRC alongside Robbie and Josey McNamara. The project marks the latest collaboration between Robbie's production company and Fennell, following 'Promising Young Woman' and 'Saltburn.'

Critical Reception and Cultural Impact

Reviews have been mixed but largely praise the film's entertainment value. Rooney called it 'arguably the writer-director's most purely entertaining film — pulpy, provocative, drenched in blazing color and opulent design, laced with anachronistic flourishes, sexy, pervy, irreverent and resonantly tragic.' However, some critics have noted the underwritten roles for Robbie and Elordi, whose performances are magnetic but given little to work with beyond physicality. The film's explicit content and deviations from the source material have sparked debate, with traditionalists decrying the liberties taken while others applaud Fennell's audacity.

What Comes Next for the Stars and Filmmaker

Robbie's next project is Sony's 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,' co-starring Colin Farrell, set for release in 2025. Elordi continues in the third season of HBO's 'Euphoria' and will appear in Ridley Scott's 'The Dog Stars' later this year. Fennell has not announced her next film, but her track record of provocative, commercially successful films suggests she will continue to push boundaries. With 'Wuthering Heights' now available to a wider audience on streaming, its cultural impact is likely to grow, cementing Fennell's reputation as one of the most daring filmmakers working today.

The bottom line

• Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' is a sexually explicit, anachronistic adaptation that has grossed over $240 million worldwide.
• The film stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, with a supporting cast including Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, and Alison Oliver.
• Fennell turned down a $150 million Netflix offer to make the film for $80 million with Warner Bros., insisting on a theatrical release.
• The film begins streaming on HBO Max on May 1, with a linear HBO debut on May 2 featuring an ASL version.
• Critical reception has been mixed but highlights the film's entertainment value and visual style, with some calling it 'Wuthering Heights for the Bridgerton generation.'
• Robbie and Elordi have upcoming projects: Robbie in 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' and Elordi in 'The Dog Stars' and 'Euphoria' season three.