Animated goat movie edges win over Emerald Fennell’s contentious Wuthering Heights

Sony Pictures Animation’s film ‘GOAT’ is leading a quiet weekend at the North American box office, beating ‘Wuthering Heights’ in a second-weekend showdown

It was a battle of the holdovers at the North American box office this weekend, with the family-friendly film GOAT edging out the R-rated Wuthering Heights.

Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT took in $17 million, while Warner Bros’ Wuthering Heights earned $14.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Both films are in their second weekend.

Overall, it was a quiet weekend at movie theaters around the country, with new offerings all opening under $10 million. Those results applied to the faith-based sequel I Can Only Imagine 2, the Glen Powell black comedy How to Make a Killing and the horror film Psycho Killer, which currently has a 0 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One bright spot in theaters was Baz Luhrmann’s immersive documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, which earned $3.3 million from only 325 locations in its limited IMAX release. That film expands to nationwide distribution on Feb. 27.

GOAT dropped a slim 38 per cent in its second weekend in theaters, which the studio attributed to positive word-of-mouth. The Stephen Curry-produced movie, about a small goat with big sports dreams (voiced by Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin) has made over $58.3 million. Globally, its running total is at $102.3 million.

Will, voiced by Caleb McLaughlin, in ‘GOAT’ (AP)

Wuthering Heights meanwhile, fell 57 per cent from its opening last weekend, bringing its domestic total to $60 million. Internationally, it added another $26.3 million, pushing its global total to $151.7 million against an $80 million production budget. The movie's top international market continues to be the U.K., where it has made $22.5 million alone.

Third place for the weekend went to Lionsgate and Kingdom Story’s I Can Only Imagine 2, a follow-up to the 2018 Dennis Quaid movie that made $86 million against a $7 million budget. The sequel opened with $8 million, a far cry from the first film’s $17 million launch, though that was in line with expectations. It did score a rare A+ CinemaScore.

Amazon and MGM’s Crime 101 fell 59 per cent in its second weekend, bringing in $5.8 million to take fourth place. The Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo heist thriller has now made $24.7 million against a reported $90 million budget. Send Help rounded out the top five with $4.5 million.

How to Make a Killing landed in sixth place with $3.6 million. A24 released the StudioCanal movie in 1,600 North American theaters. The film, loosely inspired by Kind Hearts and Coronets, stars Powell as a man who, in a quest to acquire a $28 billion inheritance, decides to kill off his family members. Directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), How to Make a Killing was not well-received by critics: it’s sitting at a “rotten” 47 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Margot Robbie in ‘Wuthering Heights’ (Warner Bros)

Psycho Killer, released by 20th Century Studios, fared much worse and opened outside of the top 10. The horror-thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven) and directed by Gavin Polone (a notable television and film producer in his directorial debut) tanked in its first weekend in theaters with $1.6 million in ticket sales from 1,110 theaters. Audiences were not any happier with it than critics; According to PostTrak, only 31 per cent of ticket buyers would “definitely recommend” it.

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With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. GOAT, $17 million.

2. Wuthering Heights, $14.2 million.

3. I Can Only Imagine 2, $8 million.

4. Crime 101, $5.8 million.

5. Send Help, $4.5 million.

6. How to Make a Killing, $3.6 million.

7. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, $3.3 million.

8. Solo Mio, $2.6 million.

9. Zootopia 2, $2.3 million.

10. Avatar: Fire and Ash, $1.8 million.