The film industry has yet again sparked controversy. Friday, February 13th marked the release of another adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Based on the 1847 classic piece of English literature by Emily Brontë, the story debuted once again on the big screen. It features Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw.

Outrage behind the movie started before its release. It was not just one incident that created a scandal; it was multiple. First, some background knowledge is needed to understand why the movie is such a big deal. Part of the novel’s depth is attributed to the fact that it touches on topics such as domestic violence and psychological torture. The controversy starts with Heathcliff who is described as a “non-white man.” Back in early 2024, Elordi and Robbie were announced as the leads for the movie. This resulted in immediate outcry regarding the fact that the actors’ ages, appearances, and overall demeanors were wrong. More specifically, Elordi’s skin color being lighter, and Robbie’s age compared to Catherine Earnshaw’s teenage years in the book.

All of the controversy was then spurred on by Robbie’s and Elordi’s constant appearances in public and for press releases. The duo came off as a couple rather than co-stars and close friends, but after the movie’s release, fans found out that the level of intimacy was just a publicity stunt to promote the movie.

After the initial announcement, chatter about the movie died down until closer to its release date, when, in late January another racially related situation arose. Robbie walked out on the red carpet for the premiere wearing the Taj Mahal Necklace. When asked about it, Robbie mentioned its connection to British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor, completely failing to address its more ethnic background. The Mughal diamond on the necklace was originally a gift from Emperor Shah Jahangir to his wife Nur Jahan. When the interview was released, no fan failed to call out Robbie for disregarding this part of the necklace’s history. IB sophomore, Naga Sudhabathula, found this “quite disappointing” as she normally loves Robbie, and thought it was sad that she would ignore a big part of the necklace’s history.

Many were also troubled by the suspicion that the movie would focus too much on a steamy, toxic romance and would completely disregard the classic themes represented in the novel. Unfortunately, these suspicions were confirmed by the official release. Fans claimed it was shallow and lacked actual substance. They also believed that Emerald Fennell, the director, focused too much on the aesthetics of the movie and not enough on the actual plot. The disappointment was worsened by the fact that “House” by Charli XCX played at the beginning. While it was supposed to set the stage for a gothic yet elegant scene, the song became more of a laughingstock in the theater. The song was originally released in November of 2025 and spread like wildfire on TikTok as a meme song. When leaving the theater, many fans thought it was a bad idea to release the song months before the movie because no one could take it seriously. IB sophomore, Nitya Duddella, agreed, saying the song has been used “for jokes” all over TikTok and she cannot take it seriously.

Despite the many bumps in the road prior to the screening of the movie, it made around $83 million within the first week of being in theaters, surpassing its budget of $80 million. By its second week the movie had grossed almost double the amount and is continuing strong. Clearly, the widespread outrage behind the movie has also led to its widespread success in theaters.