Valentine’s Day lifts Australian box office to strongest result in a decade

Australians chose cinemas over candlelit dinners this Valentine’s Day, driving the strongest February 14 box office result since 2016. Nationally, cinemas generated $6.27 million on Valentine’s Day, marking the biggest takings for the date in nearly a decade and reinforcing the resilience of the theatrical market.

The result was powered by the opening weekend of Wuthering Heights, which debuted last Thursday following its Australian premiere at Sydney’s State Theatre attended by lead actors Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.

Across its Thursday-to-Sunday launch window, the romantic drama delivered 255,000 admissions and $6.1 million at the box office, ranking as the ninth-largest opening ever for a romance film in Australia. Notably, Wuthering Heights accounted for 43% of total weekend admissions, underscoring its dominance across the market.

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Crime 101 also posted a solid debut, generating 95,000 admissions and $2 million. The LA-set heist thriller stars Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo, and arrived with strong reviews, including an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score.

With Australian stars fronting both releases, distributors pointed to a recurring trend: local audiences disproportionately backing homegrown talent. Both films outperformed their US openings relative to market size. Audience momentum extended beyond new releases, with Shelter, Marty Supreme, Send Help and The Housemaid continuing to attract moviegoers.

Guy Burbidge, managing director of Val Morgan Cinema, said the breadth of content currently in market is sustaining audience engagement.

“The depth and variety of content currently in Australian cinemas speaks to the strength of the theatrical market,” Burbidge said.

“This weekend alone, six genres featured in the top ten, giving audiences across all demographics a compelling reason to head to the cinema.”

Looking ahead, Burbidge flagged a strong pipeline of releases across multiple genres.

“Across the next two months, we have highly anticipated titles like Scream 7, GOAT, Reminders of Him, Project Hail Mary, Hoppers, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 all releasing by the end of April.”

He added that the Q2 slate will lean heavily on globally recognised franchises.

“The slate continues to strengthen across Q2, anchored by some of the world’s most successful and beloved IP, including The Mandalorian and Grogu, Minions & Monsters, Toy Story 5, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Moana and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”