Longtime journalist and podcaster Jordan Crucchiola guests on this week’s episode as the gang discusses the reception and commercial performance of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights. Well, she eventually skips out at around the halfway mark since she hadn’t yet seen the other new releases amid a crowded President’s Day weekend. Still, the remaining four of us (Scott, Lisa, Jeremy and Max) have much to say about the differing fortunes for the other movies. To wit…

Max hashes out the complicated issues related to casting Jacob Elordi as “not quite a white guy” Heathcliff, which Jordan notes that white filmmakers (even women) can find themselves in a lose/lose scenario when telling stories about or in conversation with race-based inequities. Scott explains why, in a rare exception, he finds himself indifferent to the outcry over this specific would-be whitewashing, as Jeremy notes that the film is another instance of disproportionately hyperbolic online response skewing the more middle-of-the-road real-world buzz.

There’s a lot where that came from, but once Jordan sneaks away, the gang gets down to “real business,” including whether $35 million is exceptional or merely pretty good for Sony’s original GOAT. Jeremy argues that the lowered ceiling remains an issue, while Lisa argues that the sky-high results for non-sequel animated films from the early 2000s to the late 2010s might have been a momentary fluke. Everyone agrees that Crime 101 cost too much and grossed too little, and they all have opinions about what Amazon is or isn’t up to regarding its theatrical plans.

Finally, everyone gives a modest hat tip to the “could have been so much worse” debut for Good Luck, Have Fun Don’t Die while noting that at least some subjective disappointment over Wuthering Heights’s mere $38 million Fri-Mon domestic debut was about hyperbolic expectations and an unexpected plethora of healthy competitors and holdovers. In the long run, it’s arguably better for the big tentpole to open a little smaller alongside healthy competition rather than having the entire theatrical ecosystem depending on the official big would-be blockbuster pulling the best-case-scenario box office.

Apologies, but I’m running behind, so no “recommended reading” for this week. That said, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected].

* Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News

* Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap

* Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Comic Book and Autostraddle

* Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria

* Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone

* Jordan Crucchiola - Feeling Seen, Vulture and NPR

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