Emerald Fennell’s divisive ‘Wuthering Heights’ has defied critics at the box office, becoming the year’s biggest movie on its first weekend after a steamy promo trail.

Starring Australians Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the flick hauled an estimated $US 83 million ($117 million) globally on the Valentine’s Day weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

That meant the unconventional R-rated film has already earned back its estimated budget of $US 80 million ($113 million), not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion.

However, despite the good figures, ‘Wuthering Heights’  did not quite meet expectations in the US where it had been estimated to draw US$40 million ($56.7 million) on debut, but instead took $US38 million ($53.8 million).

Overseas ticket sales reached $US45 million ($63.8 million), not including Japan and China, where the movie will launch in late February and March.

The Warner Bros release topped the box office charts and nabbed the title for the year’s biggest opening ahead of the animated GOAT and the heist thriller Crime 101.

According to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76 per cent of the ‘Wuthering Heights’ ticket buyers were women.

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie bring plenty of passion as Heathcliff and Cathy. Photo: Warner Bros

Fennell’s version of ‘Wuthering Heights’, which takes many liberties with Emily Brontë’s novel, has largely divided critics. 

It’s currently sitting at a mixed 63 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

While that didn’t dissuade audiences from buying tickets, only 51 per cent 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 romantic drama starring Queensland-born Robbie and Elordi as the star-crossed Catherine and Heathcliff, had its biggest day on Valentine’s Day, when it earned $US14 million ($A20 million). 

And the film still has several big openings on the horizon, in Japan and Vietnam on February 27, and in China on March 13.

Robbie and Elordi walked the red carpet at Sydney’s State Theatre on Thursday evening, in the finale of a global promotional tour that took in Los Angeles, Paris, and London.

At every stop, Robbie’s red carpet outfits have stolen the spotlight, with Sydney no exception.

At the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles, Robbie evoked memories of her “Barbie-core” promo era, dressing in a striking Gothic ensemble.

It was another outing in an apparently intimate marketing strategy for ‘Wuthering Heights’, which sparked chatter of the surprising “showmance” between the Aussie co-stars.

Elordi described their relationship as a “mutual obsession”. He even filled Robbie’s room with roses on Valentine’s Day, leaving her to muse “Oh, he’s probably a very good boyfriend”.

For her part, Robbie revealed feeling unsettled when Elordi wasn’t on set – amid reports he would stand in a corner, just metres away, as she filmed.

“I found myself starting to look around to see where he was. I was really unnerved and unmoored. And I felt quite lost, like a kid without their blanket or something,” she told Fandango.

Elordi said the two stars really became one with their roles.

-with AAP