by Xinhua writers Huang Yuzhang and Wang Xiaopeng

BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- As Catherine and Heathcliff once again roam the Yorkshire moors on screens around the world, the tragic lovers are finding a chillier reception than expected from audiences in China.

"Wuthering Heights," the latest adaptation of Emily Bronte's 1847 classic, is directed by Emerald Fennell and stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. The reinterpretation by the British filmmaker, who won the Oscar for best original screenplay for "Promising Young Woman," has performed robustly elsewhere, grossing more than 227 million U.S. dollars globally to date.

But the numbers tell a bleaker story in China. The drama mustered just around 17.19 million yuan (about 2.49 million U.S. dollars) as of Thursday, with 2.03 million yuan raked in on its opening day last Friday, according to Maoyan, one of China's major online ticketing platforms.

Although the first week's ticket sales do not necessarily determine the overall box office revenue of a movie, such disparity is striking, especially given that the source novel, a reading material for many schools in China, enjoys a devoted following among Chinese readers. So what accounts for the film's tepid performance during its debut week in the world's second-largest movie market?

Part of the explanation lies in timing. Unlike many international markets, where the film opened around Valentine's Day, its release in China came during a box-office lull, just after the lucrative Spring Festival holiday had ended.

With nationwide attendance declining, local blockbusters from the holiday period have continued to dominate. "Pegasus 3," a racing comedy and the season's highest-grossing film, took in more than 25 million yuan last Sunday, over eight times the earnings of "Wuthering Heights" on the same day.

But the reasons behind its underperformance extend beyond scheduling alone. For many Chinese moviegoers, the bigger issue is the movie itself, and specifically how it measures up to a beloved literary work. For many of those who had spent time and money seeing the drama in movie theaters, this high-profile adaptation falls short of their expectations.

According to the synopsis on the international review platform IMDb, the movie is described as "a passionate and tumultuous love story" that explores "the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw."

However, many Chinese moviegoers believe the latest film fails to fathom the rich themes of the original novel. A top comment on Douban, a popular review platform, praised the film's "nearly impeccable visual presentation," but lamented that "the tragic force of the original work is almost gone."

"The movie almost strips the original novel of its complex characters and social context, only leaving plots of desire and betrayal," another Douban user wrote. "Its obsessive emphasis on physical and emotional entanglement between the leads makes it more of a sensational romance."

For viewers unfamiliar with the culturally dense source novel, such comments may deter a ticket purchase. "I won't watch it," read a comment beneath a critical post on social media.

Industry insiders believe the muted response to a big-budget, star-driven production, which makes bold use of visuals, reflects a broader shift in the mindset of Chinese consumers.

"Chinese moviegoers today are more rational," said Mu Chen, head of a movie research institute. "Instead of simply buying tickets for heavily-marketed and star-studded movies, they check online ratings, read reviews and ask around to find movies that offer a genuinely rewarding experience."

An article on a professional social media account noted that while some Hollywood films have struggled in the Chinese market recently, this does not signal a blanket rejection of imports. It pointed to the success of Disney's "Zootopia 2" in the Chinese market as evidence.

Data shows that the animated sequel, the top-grossing imported film in Chinese box office history, has amassed more than 4.5 billion yuan since its release in November 2025, highlighting the enormous market foundation and consumption demand in China.

Last year, other imported films, including James Cameron's epic sci-fi film "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth," also generated strong responses from Chinese audiences and bagged considerable earnings.

"Regardless of origin, the films that achieve both commercial success and critical acclaim in China today are those that deliver authentic emotional resonance and invite real-world reflection," the article said. ■