“Fifty Shades of Grey” may have failed to impress critics, but that didn’t seem to stop thousands of curious moviegoers to check out the movie based on E.L. James’ trilogy of kinky novels. The raunchy movie starring Jamie Dornan as the wealthy young entrepreneur Christian Grey, and Dakota Johnson as the love interest, Anastasia Steele, opened with an estimated $81.7 million domestically. The Sam Taylor-Johnson-directed movie raked in an additional $158 million from 9,637 locations in 58 territories internationally. The sexy movie is now officially the biggest Presidents Day weekend opener of all-time, and also stands as the second biggest February debut in history.
Disappointing ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Movie Dominates Box Office
Newcomer “Kingsman: The Secret Service” lags behind in second place with an estimated $35.6 million. The action movie starring Colin Firth and Taron Egerton is based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class). “Kingsman: The Secret Service” tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius. The film is must see as rated by review aggregator Rottentomatoes.com, their consensus reads:
“Critics Consensus: Stylish, subversive, and above all fun, Kingsman: The Secret Service finds director Matthew Vaughn sending up the spy genre with gleeful abandon.”
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” poster
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” trailer:
Last week’s first placer “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” slips down to third place with an estimated $30.5 million. “American Sniper” falls to fourth, and “Jupiter Ascending” slips to fifth with approximately $16.4 million and $9.4 million respectively.
Quick look at the top-grossing pictures in North American theaters, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:
- “Fifty Shades of Grey” – $81.7 million
- “Kingsman: The Secret Service” – $35.6 million
- “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” – $30.5 million
- “American Sniper” – $16.4 million
- “Jupiter Ascending” – $9.4 million
- “Seventh Son” – $4.2 million
- “Paddington” – $4.1 million
- “The Imitation Game” – $3.5 million
- “The Wedding Ringer” – $3.4 million
- “Project Almanac” – $2.7 million
