I Need To Talk About Seeing Wuthering Heights In A Packed Theater Of Women

It’s still early days in the 2026 movie schedule, but clearly Wuthering Heights has already made an impression on audiences this past week, given its box office dominance. Whether you love, hate it, or fall in the middle (as I did in my Wuthering Heights review) on Emerald Fennell’s adaptation, I want to talk about one undeniable highlight I found about this release: seeing it in theaters with a ton of other women.

I Loved My Experience Seeing Wuthering Heights In Theaters

I took my seat at my local theater at a busy mall to see Wuthering Heights on opening night on Thursday night to find that just about every seat was taken. As the movie unfolded, I realized that most of the audience consisted of women who had brought groups of their girlfriends with them to gasp and laugh together throughout. The collective sound and whispered asides from everyone watching the movie together and discussing it together as the credits rolled had the infectious energy of a sleepover as the movie went on.

Margot Robbie has suggested before that grabbing your besties is absolutely how she thinks the movie should be seen – citing her own screening with friends as “the most unhinged experience of [her] life”. I know a lot of people probably went on Valentine’s Day weekend dates to check out the movie, but oh my goodness, was Robbie right! I was living for the giggly gal pal fest, seeing this movie in a packed theater. And, I actually think it only helps that the movie is so polarizing because as everyone walked out, they were having a blast sharing their own opinions on the bold take on the Emily Brontë classic.

It Made Me Realize There’s Not Enough Women-Leaning Big Movies

While Wuthering Heights’ romance didn’t completely sweep me away, the experience of this collective female gaze we were all together to watch did. It reminded me quite a bit of when I saw Barbie in theaters a few years ago, all dressed in pink with my group of friends. Sure, there’s definitely a bigger message to grab on to with Barbie that I’ll be thinking more about than Wuthering Heights in the long run. I love that Robbie (who is a producer on the film) and Fennell made something specifically for women to come together in a cinema for, because we need all the reasons we can!

Ultimately, the familiar but rare feeling made me zoom out and think about the few times I’ve had this experience. While Wuthering Heights wasn’t a staple of my girlhood, it’s clear to me it was for a lot of women, which is why they turned out for this movie. I’ll never forget going to the Twilight movies with my friends in my teen years. Sure, we all knew they weren’t the pinnacle of cinema, but a big part of the experience was bonding with other ladies about an important piece of media to us, and I’d like to see more opportunities for that in upcoming movies.

It’s really not often at all that I go see a movie that’s mostly for the gals, and that’s wild to me. I mean – I understand why it’s the case. I think a lot of it has to do with there not being enough women filmmakers out there, and studios not taking enough chances on female-driven stories in big ways like Barbie and Wuthering Heights. I also think about a big phenomenon like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour that our spending power (in the majority, of course) could turn into the highest-grossing concert tour ever.

While Emerald Fennell isn’t reaching the heights like the other titles I mentioned, it's moving the needle, and seeing Wuthering Heights reminds me of how impactful it is to have spaces catering to women in the mainstream. I hope Wuthering Heights success serves as another reason why female-driven stories on a big scale should be more commonplace.