Box Office Showdown! GOAT vs. Wuthering Heights?! Who Will Win?

Alright, folks, the Box Office is bracing for a bit of a lull before what we expect will be a blood-curdling resurgence with *Scream 7* hitting screens next week. After a pretty respectable Presidents Day weekend that saw $144.4 million in ticket sales – a solid number but still shy of last year's $155.3 million – things are slowing down a tad. Think of it as the calm before the scream, if you will.

Box Office Showdown! GOAT vs. Wuthering Heights?! ...

The big question this weekend is who's going to take the crown. It looks like a nail-biter between Sony's animated *Goat* and Warner Bros.' period piece *Wuthering Heights*. Both are projected to rake in around $14 million, but here's the kicker: *Goat*, which is aimed at a younger audience, might just pull ahead. Sixteen percent of K-12 schools are still on winter break this Friday, giving that animated basketball-playing animal a potential edge. Last Sunday and Monday, *Goat* actually outperformed *Wuthering Heights*, which is something to consider. Currently, *Wuthering Heights* is sitting pretty with $41 million domestically, while *Goat* isn't far behind with $38 million. This one could go either way!

Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios' *Crime 101* is expected to drop about 50% in its second weekend, landing around $7.3 million. Not bad at all, especially considering its five-day cumulative gross is already at $17.4 million. Solid performance for a crime thriller, in my opinion.

Now, A24 is throwing their hat in the ring with *How to Make a Killing*, a psychological thriller starring Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley. StudioCanal financed this one, and A24 snapped up the U.S. distribution rights for under mid-single-digit millions. It's opening in 1,600 theaters, but projections are hovering around the low single-digit millions. The early reviews haven’t been stellar, with a "rotten" 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. That could definitely impact its performance.

The film’s premise is a bit twisted: a blue-collar guy, disowned by his super-rich family, will do whatever it takes to get his inheritance back, even if it means taking out a few relatives. Dark stuff! A24 even hosted a special screening and reception at The Grove on Valentine's Day, which I thought was a clever bit of marketing. Previews for this R-rated flick start at 4 PM, so we’ll see if it manages to surprise us all. I'm always rooting for the underdog, but it looks like *Goat* and *Wuthering Heights* are really going to battle it out for the top spot this weekend.