Theaters have lengthy sounded the decision for extra films of their theaters, however success is about selection in addition to high quality. The field workplace can’t get again to full energy on tentpoles, horror and household movies alone.
That’s why the $353 million world theatrical run of Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid” in December and the $38 million home/$83 million world opening of Warner Bros. “Wuthering Heights” this weekend is purpose for some hope for film theaters. Over the course of 2026, Hollywood has assembled a collection of films primarily focusing on feminine viewers, catering to a demographic with a stage of consistency that hasn’t been seen shortly.
And girls are displaying up, as evidenced by the 74% opening weekend viewers share for “Wuthering Heights” and the 70-72% viewers share for Common’s “Depraved” duology, which mixed for $817 million home and $1.28 billion worldwide. Even when these musicals are an exception, films with an identical feminine supermajority have proven they’ll play a key supporting function for the market.
“From what we’re seeing, turnout from grownup girls is strengthening, significantly amongst Gen Z and millennial audiences who’re in search of tales,” mentioned Rob Lehman, COO of Santikos Leisure. “Now the tables are turning a bit – the place the females are saying to their partner or associate, ‘I noticed all these motion films and now it’s your flip to see one in every of these films.’”
Not solely is Hollywood discovering success in making movies for and by girls, however a steadier clip of those movies in theaters is offering exhibitors with a more healthy steadiness sheet. That’s excellent news for a theatrical business hoping for a $10 billion home 12 months in 2026 and proves that when Hollywood caters to an underserved viewers, they as a rule present up.
“We’ve had post-pandemic movies for ladies like ‘Anybody However You’ get away, however there’s not often one other movie prefer it to comply with up,” mentioned Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock. “Hollywood is displaying that it’s taking note of an viewers that has proven it should present up however hasn’t gotten as many movies as they need to.”
Lionsgate Movement Image Group president Erin Westerman informed TheWrap final 12 months, forward of “The Housemaid” launch, that not solely are girls underserved, however they crave experiences they’ll share with one another. Placing these sorts of films in theaters fills that want.
“Their bar is larger and their expectation for what they’re served is larger. However I feel they’re completely underserved,” she mentioned. “I feel girls and ladies usually search out group, and I feel discovering areas the place they are often communal is necessary to them.”
Whereas these movies received’t deliver within the billions that tentpoles like “Avatar: Fireplace and Ash” or the upcoming “The Tremendous Mario Galaxy Film” gross, they supply the secondary help that stops the deep field workplace slumps which have repeatedly hit theaters because the pandemic. And when launched frequently, their advertising and marketing campaigns are in a position to construct off of one another.
As “The Housemaid” legged out to change into Lionsgate’s largest field workplace hit in two years, a largely feminine viewers was handled to trailers of “Wuthering Heights” that includes Charli XCX’s authentic songs for the movie, melodramatic and colourful photographs of Margot Robbie within the English countryside, and a shot of Jacob Elordi rising from the fog that turned a broadly shared picture on social media within the leadup to its launch this previous weekend.
“Statistically, girls are on social media extra, creating extra dialog on social media. Feminine audiences can drive tradition,” Westerman mentioned, her level proving out as video reactions from “Wuthering Heights” flooded Instagram and TikTok this weekend.
Even when the $38 million prolonged home begin for “Wuthering Heights” wasn’t the explosive opening of one thing like “Fifty Shades of Gray,” which debuted to $93 million in 2015, there was as soon as a risk that the movie wouldn’t be in theaters in any respect. Netflix reportedly made a $150 million provide for the challenge, which Fennell and Robbie took out to patrons as a bundle, however the author/director and star/producer selected Warner Bros.’ $80 million provide as a result of the studio would guarantee a full theatrical launch with a top-shelf advertising and marketing marketing campaign in help.
“The workforce behind ‘Wuthering Heights’ selected a full theatrical launch reasonably than going straight to streaming, and when studios make that sort of dedication, we’ll match it at Regal with outsized dedication by means of showtimes, premium codecs, and advertising and marketing,” Regal Cinemas chief Eduardo Acuna informed TheWrap.
And simply as “Wuthering Heights” was in a position to construct consciousness by operating its trailer in entrance of “The Housemaid,” a number of spring titles that can function tentpole options for ladies try to market off of Emerald Fennell and Margot Robbie‘s story of romantic tragedy.
These embody Warner Bros.’ Jessie Buckley-starring crime thriller “The Bride,” A24’s scandalous darkish comedy “The Drama” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, Common’s unique locale romcom “You, Me & Tuscany” starring Halle Bailey and Rege-Jean Web page and the most recent Colleen Hoover adaptation “Reminders of Him,” starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers.
After which there’s the sequel that might deliver millennial and Gen X girls in droves to kick off the summer season: Disney/twentieth Century’s “The Satan Wears Prada 2.” The teaser trailer displaying the reunion of Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway scored 222 million views within the first 24 hours, rating among the many prime 10 ever for a trailer and the best ever for a twentieth Century title, passing the “Avatar” movies.
The truth that twentieth Century is so assured in “The Satan Wears Prada 2” that it’s opening on Could 1, a weekend historically earmarked for Marvel films, speaks volumes.
The vary for what every of those movies could make on the field workplace is pretty large, however on the prime finish, they’ll find yourself rating among the many prime 20 highest grossing movies of the 12 months. “It Ends With Us,” the movie that established Colleen Hoover as Hollywood’s literary adaptation queen, ranked fifteenth amongst all home releases in 2024 with $148.5 million.
A 12 months later, one other Hoover adaptation, Paramount’s “Regretting You,” made a extra modest $48.6 million however beat the studio’s male-skewing bomb “The Operating Man,” which grossed $37.8 million with greater than twice the manufacturing finances.
Brooks LeBoeuf, SVP of content material at Regal, credited Hoover as a significant purpose why the movie business is seeing a significant resurgence in female-focused large releases as each “Regretting You” and “It Ends With Us,” identical to “Wuthering Heights,” had opening weekend viewers shares that exceeded 75% feminine.
“‘Fifty Shades of Gray’ proved this identical dynamic a decade in the past, and the ‘Intercourse and the Metropolis’ movies did it previous to that,” LeBoeuf mentioned. “When Hollywood creates culturally related, event-level movies squarely aimed toward girls, they present up in pressure. What feels newly energized proper now could be the Colleen Hoover impact — her titles are serving to reassert that grownup girls are a core theatrical viewers when given product made for them.”
If all the above upcoming movies every place someplace inside the $50-150 million home vary, then the 2026 field workplace might be off to a sizably higher begin than the sluggish kick-off to 2025. Via the primary 4 months of final 12 months, solely 10 movies grossed no less than $50 million domestically, together with 2024 vacation holdovers “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
By the tip of February, the 2026 field workplace can have seven movies that cross the $50 million mark: 4 vacation holdovers plus “Wuthering Heights,” twentieth Century’s “Ship Assist” and Sony Animation’s “Goat.” On the tentpole facet, Pixar’s “Hoppers,” Amazon MGM’s “Challenge Hail Mary,” Illumination’s “The Tremendous Mario Galaxy Film” and Lionsgate’s “Michael” are all both probably or a lock to move $100 million, bringing the rely to 11.
So if “The Drama,” “You Me & Tuscany” and “Reminders of Him” all can prime $50 million, that implies that theaters can have 14 movies that have been substantial contributors to the field workplace earlier than “Satan Wears Prada 2” kicks off the summer season season in earnest. Mix that amount of average hits with the doubtless $600 million-plus home run that “Tremendous Mario Galaxy” is anticipated to ship, and the result’s stronger general totals supported by movies that entice a wider swath of moviegoers.
“Selection is at all times what maintains an viewers from 12 months to 12 months, particularly when an viewers sees {that a} film just like the one they paid for is popping out subsequent month,” Bock mentioned.
