Netflix “shocked” after Emerald Fennell turns down enormous multi-million dollar offer for Wuthering Heights

Historically, Netflix has typically been the biggest bidder in the room, ready to throw down some serious cash to acquire whichever project they have in their sights, but that could be changing. According to Variety, Netflix offered Emerald Fennell (Saltburn) a whopping $150 million for her upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights, but she turned it down.

Instead, Fennell took a $80 million offer from Warner Bros., which reportedly “shocked” Netflix as they “had outbid [every other studio] for so long.” The reason comes down to Fennell wanting a theatrical release for the film, which Warner Bros. fully supports, promising a wide release and a full marketing campaign. “Netflix has the biggest number of subscribers and scale, so they can afford to play the game that they’re playing,” said Eric Handler, an analyst at Roth Capital Partners. “But there’s a growing contingent of directors and movie stars who are saying, ‘No thanks.’” The report adds that Netflix may not have even been the top bidder this time, as Amazon was believed to have offered more, plus a major theatrical push. It’s not clear why Fennell turned them down as well in favour of Warner Bros.

We could see an increasing number of filmmakers ready to turn down big bucks from streaming services in favour of a proper theatrical release.

Wuthering Heights, which was first published in 1847, deals with “Heathcliff, an orphan-turned-foster-son who falls in love with the daughter of the family who owns the estate on which he now lives, Wuthering Heights. After running away, Heathcliff rises up through the ranks of the gentry and exacts revenge on the families — the Earnshaws and the Lintons — who kept him from his true love.” Wuthering Heights has been adapted to the screen numerous times, including in 1939 with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, 1970 with Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall, 1992 with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, and 2011 with Kaya Scodelario and James Howson.

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie are set to star in the film, with Elordi playing Heathcliff and Robbie playing Catherine Earnshaw. Warner Bros. is keen to get production going early next year, but Elordi is also slated to start shooting Euphoria season 3 in January.