BRAVE MAG

Emerald Fennell's bold reimagining of"Wuthering Heights"brought crowds of women to movie theaters this weekend. The Warner Bros. release topped thebox office chartsand nabbed the title for the year's biggest opening with $34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. According to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76% of those ticket buyers were women. By the end of Monday'sPresidents Day holiday, the total could rise to $40 million from its 3,682 locations.

The romantic drama starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the star-crossed Catherine and Heathcliff, won out over the weekend's other newcomers, including theanimated "GOAT"and theheist thriller "Crime 101."Its biggest day was Saturday's Valentine's Day holiday, where it earned $14 million. "Wuthering Heights" is also performing even better internationally, where it's expecting to rake in an additional $42 million from 76 territories.

The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported $80 million to produce, not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion. If the four-day totals match the estimates, that makes for a strong $82 million global debut. And the film still has several big openings on the horizon, in Japan and Vietnam on Feb. 27, and in China on March 13.

The success comes while the future of Warner Bros.hangs in the balance, as Paramountcontinues to sweetenits hostile takeover bid in hopes of winning out overNetflix. "Wuthering Heights" is the studio's ninth No. 1 opening in a row.

Fennell's version of "Wuthering Heights," which takes many liberties withEmily Brontë'snovel, largely divided critics. It's currently sitting at a mixed 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. While that didn't dissuade audiences from buying tickets, only 51% of the opening weekend audience said that they would "definitely recommend" the film to friends. Moviegoers also gave it a less-than-stellar B CinemaScore.

The mid-February weekend has hosted big superhero movies on occasion, including "Black Panther" and "Deadpool," but a more relevant comparison is"Fifty Shades of Grey"and its two sequels. The first movie opened to over $85 million, the third to $38.6 million.

"This was a solid if not record-breaking Presidents Day/Valentines weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, who heads marketplace trends for Comscore. "But that was to be expected without an MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film."

"GOAT," an animated Sony release produced by basketball star Stephen Curry, landed in second place with an estimated $26 million from 3,863 locations. It's projected to bring in another $6 million on Monday, which would bring its four day total to $32 million — the biggest animated debut since "Elemental" in 2023. It also pulled in $15.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to $47.6 million.

The family-friendly film was the only new opener of the weekend to get an A CinemaScore. Sony Pictures Animation was also behind"KPop Demon Hunters."

In third place, "Crime 101" made an estimated $15.1 million in its first three days. Amazon MGM Studios opened the Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo led Los Angeles-set thriller in 3,161 theaters. It's expected to pull in about $17.8 million by the end of Monday, but the movie has a long way to go to even hit its production budget, which reportedly exceeded $90 million. Audiences, who were 56% men, also gave "Crime 101" a B CinemaScore.

"Send Help" and "Solo Mio" rounded out the top five with $9 million and $6.4 million, respectively. Further down the charts, at No. 7, was Briarcliff Entertainment's sci-fi comedy"Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die,"starring Sam Rockwell and Haley Lu Richardson. It made an estimated $3.6 million from 1,610 locations.

The Walt Disney Studios also celebrated a milestone this weekend, becoming the first studio to cross $1 billion at the global box office in 2026, driven almost entirely by "Avatar: Fire and Ash," but also helped by the continued success of "Zootopia 2," which remains in the top 10 after twelve weekends in theaters.

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The weekend is down significantly from the same weekend last year, when"Captain America: Brave New World" opened, but the pace is starting to pick up and theaters have "Scream 7" and "Project Hail Mary" on the horizon.

"It's been a rather slow first quarter," Dergarabedian said. "But this could ignite a spark at the box office."

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

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

1. "Wuthering Heights," $34.8 million.

2. "GOAT," $26 million.

3. "Crime 101," $15.1 million.

4. "Send Help," $9 million.

5. "Solo Mio," $6.4 million.

6. "Zootopia 2," $3.8 million.

7. "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die," $3.6 million.

8. "Avatar: Fire and Ash," $3.3 million.

9. "Iron Lung," $3.1 million.

10. "Dracula," $3 million.

Steffan Hill/HBO

This article contains spoilers fromA Knight of the Seven Kingdomsepisode 4, "Seven."

Knight of the Seven Kingdomsshowrunner Ira Parker is offering his apologies to all the Dunk and Egg diehards.

Thus far, theGame of Thronesprequel series has been celebrated for bringingGeorge R.R. Martin'sThe Hedge Knightnovella to life while being impressively faithful to the source material (an aspect of the show that Martin himself has repeatedly applauded). But Parker has alsotaken a few creative libertiesand made adaptational alterations — including a key conversation that the showrunner now regrets leaving out.

During a recentReddit AMA, a fan chided Parker for omitting a scene between Dunk (Peter Claffey) and blacksmith Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour). The moment, which would have slotted into the show's fourth episode, comes as Dunk prepares to fight for his life in his Trial of the Seven. As the pair walk towards the arena together, Dunk is greeted by several smallfolk who pat him on the back and wish him luck in the upcoming trial by combat.

Steffan Hill/HBO

Dunk is confused and asks the blacksmith, "Why? Who am I to them?" Steely Pate replies, "A knight who remembered his vows."

The fan complained, "Many readers consider [this] to be the soul and the moral of the entire novella. The impact comes not just from the exchange itself, but its careful placement at Dunk's lowest point, before he realizes any champions have answered his call... It's an odd choice given how faithful you've otherwise been to the novella."

Parker offered a candid response to the criticism, writing, "Honestly it was a mistake on my part. Not my first, not my last on this show."

He continued, "That scene was in the script at one point, then fell out. I agree that 'a knight who remembers his vows' is the soul of this story, but I think that is still very much at the core of the show, even if I stupidly left out this scene. It may not be said explicitly, but Dunk's actions remain the same."

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Below Parker's answer, several fans praised the showrunner for the sincere answer with one Redditor writing, "Your honesty is really refreshing."

To Parker's point, the sentiment that Dunk is appreciated for remembering his vows is echoed elsewhere in the episode by those who rally to his side, including Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), who arrives to fight beside him, stating, "This man protected the innocent, as every true knight must."

Steffan Hill/HBO

Elsewhere in the Reddit AMA, Parker fessed up to another mistake he made when one fan asked why Prince Maekar andPrince Aerionaren't wearing their personal coat of arms as described in the books. As the commenter pointed out, both princes wear the traditional Targaryen family heraldry, while in the book, they've added personal touches to the symbols on their armor.

"So far I've seen fans point [out] 2 mistakes in this show that I was unaware of," Parker replied. "This is one of them. Definitely should have had Maekar's... That would have made it soooo easy to distinguish him in the fog. Whoops."

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

Luckily, neither of those slip-ups prevented Parker from getting showered in praise by Martin, who has made it very clear that he "loved" all six episodes ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'first season. As for fans and critics, the series has earned glowing scores on Rotten Tomatoes (95% from critics, 73% from viewers) and IMDb (8.7 out of 10), with two episodes left to go.

New episodes ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdomsair Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Law enforcement agents have been gathering more potential evidence as the search for "Today" show hostSavannah Guthrie's mother heads into its third week.

Savannah Guthrie Mom Missing

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities say her blood was found on the front porch. Purportedransom noteswere sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for paying have passed.

Authorities have expressed concern about Nancy Guthrie's health because she needs vital daily medicine. She is said to have a pacemaker and have dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff's dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.

Here's what to know about her disappearance and the intense search to find her:

Video of masked man

The Federal Bureau of Investigationreleased surveillance videosof a masked person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie's front door in Tucson the night she vanished. A porch camerarecorded videoof a person with a backpack who was wearing a ski mask, long pants, jacket and gloves.

On Thursday, the FBI called the person a suspect. It described him as a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build. The agency said he was carrying a 25-liter "Ozark Trail Hiker Pack" backpack.

Investigators initially said there was no surveillance video available since Guthrie didn't have an active subscription to the doorbell camera company. But digital forensics experts kept working tofind images in back-end softwarethat might have been lost, corrupted or inaccessible.

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Studying DNA

Investigators collected DNA from Guthrie's property which doesn't belong to Guthrie or those in close contact with her, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said. Investigators are working to identify who it belongs to.

Evidence requiring forensic analysis is being sent to the same out-of-state lab that has been used since the beginning of the case, the department said.

Investigators found several gloves, the nearest about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Guthrie's home, and submitted them for lab analysis, the sheriff's department said. It did not specify what type of gloves.

The sheriff stressed his department is working closely with the FBI.

Sorting through tips

The Pima County sheriff and the FBI announcedphone numbersand awebsiteto offer tips. Several hundred detectives and agents have been assigned to the case, the sheriff's department said.

The FBI said it has collected more than 13,000 tips since Feb. 1, the day Guthrie was reported missing. The sheriff's department, meanwhile, said it has taken at least 18,000 calls.

The sheriff's department has not said whether any tips have advanced the investigation.

Intensive searches

Late Friday night, law enforcementsealed off a roadabout 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Guthrie's home as part of their investigation. A parade of sheriff's and FBI vehicles, including forensics vehicles, passed through the roadblock.The investigators also tagged and towed a Range Rover SUV from a nearby Culver's restaurant parking lot late Friday.The sheriff's department said Saturday the activity was part of the Guthrie investigation but no arrests were made.On Tuesday, sheriff deputies detained a person for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson. Authorities didn't say what led them to stop the man butconfirmed he was released.The same day, deputies and FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search in Rio Rico, about an hour's drive south of the city.Family pleasSavannah Guthrie, her sister and her brother have shared on social mediamultiple video messagesto their mother's purported captor.The family's Instagram videos have shifted in tone from impassioned pleas to whoever may have their mom, saying theywant to talkand are even willing topay a ransom, to bleaker and more desperate requests for the public's help.The latest video on Thursday was simply a home video of their mother and a promise to "never give up on her."A quiet neighborhoodNancy Guthrie lived alone in the upscale Catalina Foothills neighborhood, where houses are spaced far apart and set back from the street by long driveways, gates and dense desert vegetation.Savannah Guthrie grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and once worked at a television station in the city, where her parents settled in the 1970s. She joined "Today" in 2011.In a video, she described her mother as a "loving woman of goodness and light."

Late Friday night, law enforcementsealed off a roadabout 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Guthrie's home as part of their investigation. A parade of sheriff's and FBI vehicles, including forensics vehicles, passed through the roadblock.

The investigators also tagged and towed a Range Rover SUV from a nearby Culver's restaurant parking lot late Friday.

The sheriff's department said Saturday the activity was part of the Guthrie investigation but no arrests were made.

On Tuesday, sheriff deputies detained a person for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson. Authorities didn't say what led them to stop the man butconfirmed he was released.

The same day, deputies and FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search in Rio Rico, about an hour's drive south of the city.

Family pleas

Savannah Guthrie, her sister and her brother have shared on social mediamultiple video messagesto their mother's purported captor.

The family's Instagram videos have shifted in tone from impassioned pleas to whoever may have their mom, saying theywant to talkand are even willing topay a ransom, to bleaker and more desperate requests for the public's help.

The latest video on Thursday was simply a home video of their mother and a promise to "never give up on her."

A quiet neighborhood

Nancy Guthrie lived alone in the upscale Catalina Foothills neighborhood, where houses are spaced far apart and set back from the street by long driveways, gates and dense desert vegetation.

Savannah Guthrie grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and once worked at a television station in the city, where her parents settled in the 1970s. She joined "Today" in 2011.

In a video, she described her mother as a "loving woman of goodness and light."