You could call Fifty Shades Of Grey lots of things. Among those descriptors, you'll find such words as "controversial," "steamy," and, of course, "cha-ching." That last one is especially fitting, as the world's most awaited fan-fiction adaptation is taking the market by storm. From your local IMAX theater, to the hardware store down the street, Fifty Shades Fever is rising. Which is big news for ticket seller Fandango, as the film is about to break a few records this weekend.
In a press release from Fandango, the company has named three separate records that are poised to be surpassed by the massive opening weekend that Fifty Shades Of Grey is predicted to enjoy in the next few days. Those three records are the biggest R-rated ticket seller, the biggest February pre-seller, and the biggest Valentine's Day seller in the history of the online ticket retailer's fifteen years in operation. Oh, and now's probably a good time to mention that the Sam Taylor-Johnson directed kink fest has already been named the company's fastest R-rated ticket seller.
This isn't too much of a surprise, considering theaters across the nation have started to sell out of tickets for some of Fifty Shades Of Grey's showtimes. Still, if there was ever a film to prove that there's a wide gap between critical opinion and public tastes, look no further than the 41% rating Fifty Shades Of Grey has racked up on Rotten Tomatoes. Compared to the extremely optimistic predictions of a $100 million opening weekend, that gap may as well be the Grand Canyon.
So why is Fifty Shades Of Grey set to become such a huge success over the Valentine's Day weekend, besides the obvious holiday affiliation? It's a conversation piece that's drawn in gaggles of ladies night groups and couples where one party requests the other take them to see a film that's pretty much sold as the ultimate date movie. Frankly, if you're not seeing Fifty Shades Of Grey this weekend, chances are you'd better have a good excuse not to be talking about it on Monday morning. Or, you've been awaiting the big screen debut of Kingman: The Secret Service more than you have the movie that's so big, Beyonce re-recorded a hit from over a decade ago for its trailers.
Fifty Shades Of Grey has been claiming bragging rights in a bunch of film related areas, living up to the pedigree that its source material cultivated over its initial period of release. If you thought the film adaptations would dull over the years of audience anticipation, then it looks like you're about to be massively disappointed. Though, to be fair, the film stands an equal chance to do just that for die hard fans as well.
Fifty Shades Of Grey opens the Playroom doors on February 13th.
