5 Movies To Watch If You Like 2026's Wuthering Heights

A somewhat divergent take on the Emily Brontë classic, Emerald Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" mixes soapy, anachronistic plot elements into the novel's brew of class issues, generational trauma and forbidden, star-crossed love. The story of rich girl Cathy Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi), the foundling boy her father brings home one day, has been told many times before — but never quite in this florid manner. It's not restrained, and it's anything but civilized — but it is a lush visual feast laden with passion that will liven up an afternoon. 

If you loved this take on "Wuthering Heights," then you're probably going to be intrigued by other frankly-written stories about anachronistic historical heroines, or erotic tales of frustrated love. This list of five films contain heartbreaking tales of lovers who are felled by miscommunication, stubbornness, bad luck and other forms of havoc which ruin — and sometimes resurrect — their sublime faith in togetherness. Whether true love has its say or not, these five films will definitely appeal to anyone who had a good time watching "Wuthering Heights.' 

"Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" are both beloved books that have multiple movie adaptations — 47 versions of the former exist to the latter's 30. The 2011 big-screen version of "Jane Eyre" will appeal to people who loved the 2026 edition of "Wuthering Heights" because it knows how to ratchet up the melodrama while leaving you invested in the impossible love story between Jane (Mia Wasikowska) and Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender, in one of his best movies). It's more serious and certainly more genteel than "Wuthering," but no less intense for that sense of reserve.

The film follows Jane as she becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, located deep in the moorland. She is an orphan whose cruel childhood has formed her into a woman of staunch but caring character. Yet she's unprepared for the secrets that Edward harbors, even as she begins to fall in love with him. Ultimately, she must have the courage to run from Edward's vagaries — even if it means shedding their fragile new bond.

Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" is unbound by the rules of space, time, and history, making it a perfect next stop for "Wuthering Heights" fans. Deliberately anachronistic, this is a biographical picture that has the titular queen (Kirsten Dunst) wear sneakers. New wave music blasts on the soundtrack, and scenes of wild excess play out before the viewer's dazed eyes. This is all deliberate; Coppola is weaving a tale about the tragedies and triumphs of teenage life around bits of glitter and gloms of silk. Marie's story is a tragedy — it's what happens when you place the welfare of an entire kingdom in the hands of someone who's barely more than a child.

The film loosely chronicles Marie's life from her arrival in France ahead of her marriage to Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) to the storming of the Bastille and her family's imprisonment in the Tuileries. In between there is scandal, flirtation, parties, and an affair with Axel von Fersen (Jamie Dornan).

"Lady Chatterley's Lover" is another erotic period piece movie about lovers who nearly miss their chance at happiness. Netflix's 2022 adaptation is fearless in its portrayal of heedless sexual passion, something that "Wuthering Heights" fans won't shrink away from when prowling for a new flick to try out. Connie Chatterley (Emma Corrin) and Oliver Mellors (Jack O'Connell) earn a much happier ending than Cathy and Heathcliff, though they commit adultery without shame or regret as well. 

To Connie's credit, the adultery is her husband, Sir Clifford Chatterley's (Matthew Duckett) idea. Wounded in combat during his service in World War I, Clifford is paralyzed from the waist down. Clifford's heart is hardened by his injury, and he becomes cruel, losing the sweet, progressive ways that had so beguiled Connie's heart before their marriage.

Unable to fulfill his marital duties, Clifford suggests Connie have an affair so that he might have an heir. This is how Connie falls in league with gamekeeper Oliver. But Clifford could not have predicted that Connie would find affinity, romance and comfort — as well as sexual satisfaction — with Oliver, leaving her caught between what society expects of her and what her heart yearns for.

Dramatic, romantic, and filled with a dizzyingly rich assortment of bloodcurdling, blood-soaked scenes, Francis Ford Coppola's take on Stoker's titular novel is also a story about a romance so doomed that it might even bring a tear to Heathcliff's eye. Part love triangle, part mystery, part quest for justice, the story of the central count (Gary Oldman) will keep "Wuthering Heights" fans intrigued and swooning right to the last bloody drop. On top of that, it also sports one of the best portrayals of the Dracula legend in movie history.

Back in 1462, Vlad Dracula is grief stricken to lean of the death of his wife, Elisabeta (Winona Ryder). The thought of slaying the men who encouraged her suicide lead him to renounce his faith and turn to vampirism. Time passes, and it's now 1897. Dracula is shocked to note that his solicitor, Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) has a fiancée who looks just like Elisabeta. Though Mina Murray (also Ryder) doesn't remember him, Dracula is convinced she is his wife reincarnated. He sets about convincing her by any means necessary. 

Finally, there's this poetic biopic about duty, desire, and fighting dirty for what you really want. "Wuthering Heights" fans will recognize the storm-tossed, taboo love affair between Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) and Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (Dominic Cooper), probably seeing echoes of Heathcliff and Cathy in them. Even without that connection, it's so very easy to get involved in Georgina's battle for autonomy, love and a place in the lives of her children.

The film follows Georgiana's unhappy marriage to William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), which is soon so unhappy as to encourage her toward becoming a light of society and a fashion plate. When William begins an affair with her only friend, Lady Elizabeth 'Bess' Foster (Hayley Atwell), Georgiana takes on a boyfriend of her own. But her connection to Charles soon sets in motion a series of shocking events which will shape her future — and eventually that of the British monarchy — forever.