There's no denying that Fifty Shades of Grey (the book, as well as the 2015 film adaptation) captured the imaginations of men and women all around the world -- even if it was not a critical sensation. Now it's time to get a little bit darker. With less than a year to go until its sensual sequel, Fifty Shades Darker, hits theaters, people have once again taken to social media to start talking about everyone's favorite bondage-centric franchise. In fact, the social media buzz is so hot and steamy that it seems like an incredibly powerful indicator that Fifty Shades Darker could become a major box office hit.
Based upon a new report from Deadline, it appears that Fifty Shades Darker has already become a major phenomenon online. After garnering a record 114 million trailer views online in its first 24 hours, the upcoming sequel has also become the most talked about movie on social media over the course of the last week. All told, it's estimated that the film has generated at least 172,000 conversations on social media to date. If this enthusiasm holds firm, then we can likely expect this buzz to translate to some serious cash flow when the film premieres in February.
Of course, it's worth noting that intense social media buzz does not always translate to positive social media buzz. Although Suicide Squad became the most talked about superhero film of the summer on social media, it fell short of matching the big 2016 box office performances of Deadpool and Captain America: Civil War. Getting people talking is one thing, but actually getting people into theater seats is a different situation entirely.
That being said, the Fifty Shades franchise is already on fairly solid ground. Fifty Shades of Grey shattered Valentine's Day records last year (before the aforementioned Deadpool came along) when it hit theaters by garnering $85.2 million in its opening weekend. Between viewing parties, group outings and Valentines Day date nights, there's no reason to believe that Fifty Shades Darker won't recapture the financial magic of the original film. All of our minds are in the gutter, and Hollywood is completely ready to capitalize on that.
For those of you that have not kept up with the world of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele (God, I love those names), check out the most recent trailer for Fifty Shades Darker below:
CinemaBlend will keep you up to date with all of the latest and greatest news related to Fifty Shades Darker as more information becomes available to us. The sexy sequel will hit theaters next winter on February 10, 2017 -- just in time for Valentine's Day. Stay tuned for more details!
