Wuthering Heights Adaptation Sparks Controversy, Earns $80M Debut

Emerald Fennell's audacious take on the classic novel becomes a cultural flashpoint with its provocative marketing campaign.

Published on Feb. 16, 2026

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When Emerald Fennell's adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" opened to an $80 million global debut this Valentine's Day weekend, it marked the culmination of one of 2026's most provocative—and polarizing—marketing campaigns. The film, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as literature's most toxic lovers, became a cultural flashpoint months before its February 13 release, proving that controversy, when strategically deployed, can sometimes be a marketer's most powerful tool.

Why it matters

The "Wuthering Heights" campaign demonstrates several modern marketing principles: embrace your auteur's vision rather than fighting it, leverage music partnerships beyond traditional soundtracks, turn press tour moments into shareable content, and don't shy from controversy when it's authentic to your product. This targeting strategy, reflected in everything from the Charli XCX soundtrack to the romance novel-inspired poster design, showed sophisticated audience segmentation.

The details

The campaign's visual strategy courted both admiration and outrage. The first teaser and poster dropped on September 3, 2025, after promotional billboards appeared in New York, London, and Los Angeles. The poster paid deliberate homage to "Gone with the Wind" (1939) and was based on a 1920 "Wuthering Heights" adaptation poster. The film's title treatment—stylized with quotation marks as "Wuthering Heights"—became a talking point itself. November brought a provocative poster that fully embraced bodice-ripper romance novel aesthetics. Music became a crucial marketing differentiator, with Charli XCX creating a full companion album for the film. Robbie and Elordi's press tour also became its own marketing engine, generating headlines with their effusive praise for one another.

  • The first teaser and poster dropped on September 3, 2025.
  • Three singles from the Charli XCX companion album were released at timely intervals: "House" featuring Velvet Underground's John Cale (November 10, 2025), "Chains of Love" (November 13, 2025), and "Wall of Sound" (January 16, 2026).
  • The film had its global premiere on February 12, 2026 in Sydney, Australia.

The players

Emerald Fennell

The director of the audacious "Wuthering Heights" adaptation.

Margot Robbie

The lead actress who starred as one of literature's most toxic lovers.

Jacob Elordi

The co-star who played opposite Robbie as the other half of the iconic couple.

Charli XCX

The musician who created a full companion album for the film.

CeCe Jewellery

The jewelry brand that designed matching rings for Robbie and Elordi featuring "two entwined skeletons in the exact pose of the iconic film poster".

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What they’re saying

“We have a mutual obsession.”

— Jacob Elordi (Fandango)

“I can't say I'm making Wuthering Heights. It's not possible. What I can say is I'm making a version of it.”

— Emerald Fennell, Director (Forbes)

What’s next

The audience skewed heavily female and young, with 53% of viewers being ages 18-34. Whether the film reaches profitability remains uncertain, but the campaign proved that theatrical exhibition and creator-driven storytelling can still generate significant cultural conversation, for better or for worse.

The takeaway

In an era of risk-averse franchises, "Wuthering Heights" represents a different gamble: that passion, controversy, and creative ambition—backed by serious marketing muscle—can still seduce audiences to theaters. The film's ability to generate $80 million globally in its opening weekend, despite mixed reviews and casting controversy, suggests the marketing team successfully created an event film from a 177-year-old novel.