By Erich Schwartzel
The competition had no choice but to submit to "Fifty Shades of
Grey."
The erotic romance movie easily took the top spot at the box
office, collecting an estimated $94.4 million over the long holiday
weekend. The adaptation of E L James's publishing phenomenon about
an undergraduate (played by Dakota Johnson) who enters into a
sadomasochistic relationship with a mysterious billionaire (Jamie
Dornan)--was among the most-anticipated releases of the year.
It is rare to find source material that is as surefire as "Fifty
Shades." The three-book series, originally self-published by the
author in 2011, has sold more than 100 million copies and seems to
have generated just as many discussions, introducing the world of
sadomasochism to readers around the world.
Many critics pillaged the film, and audiences were mixed,
too--"Fifty Shades" received a C+ grade from weekend moviegoers,
according to the CinemaScore market research firm. Yet "Fifty
Shades" set the record for a Valentine's Day weekend release; about
68% of opening-weekend moviegoers were women.
Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures won a Hollywood race for the
film rights to the series, and adaptations of the next two book
installments are expected. The studio promoted the film with an ad
campaign that asked moviegoers, "Curious?"--a marketing push that
made the film available "to the widest audience possible," said
Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic distribution. The
combination of a well-known story and the Valentine's Day weekend
made the debut a "perfect storm" for the release to be treated like
a cultural event, said Mr. Carpou.
The film features several graphic sex scenes and has been banned
in a couple of international markets that have turned away risqué
titles in the past. It still collected an additional $172 million
overseas. "Fifty Shades" had a budget of $40 million.
There was good news to spare in Hollywood this weekend, with two
movies benefiting from "Fifty Shades" counterprogramming.
"Kingsman: The Secret Service," a spy comedy starring Colin Firth,
made its debut in second place with a solid $42 million. Audiences
gave "Kingsman" a B+, according to CinemaSHYScore.
The children's movie "SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge Out of
Water" held strong in its second week, grossing $40 million for a
total $103 million. And "American Sniper" continued its phenomenal
run, taking in $19.5 million for a cumulative $307.2 million.
The overall weekend box-office continued to improve upon last
year's receipts. Year-to-date box office is up more than 10%
compared with 2014, according to the box-office tracker Rentrak
Corp.
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
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