Fifty Shades shatters peace as well as records

Broken records, broken glass and a potentially broken relationship were all in a few day’s work for the movie monster that is Fifty Shades of Grey, which took $81.7m in its opening weekend at the U.S. box office.

Valentine’s Day and President’s Weekend 2015 will both go down as mere footnotes in the history books; backdrops to one of the most eventful cinematic releases of all-time.

It’s probably worthy of a novel in its own right, but we’ll stick with the basic news story for now. The aforementioned statistic has made Fifty Shades of Grey the most successful opener of any President’s Weekend, which is quite an honour on the other side of the pond. It beat the previous record of $56.3m – held by 2010 romcom Valentine’s Day – to an absolute pulp, as well as finishing streets ahead of another new entry that went in at number two with $35.6m, Kingsman: The Secret Service.

On a global scale, it is well on course to smash the £300m mark, yet it would seem the old adage that money can’t buy happiness is ringing true amongst all of the commotion. Reports are circulating that director Sam Taylor-Johnson and author E.L. James are at loggerheads over the frequency of sex scenes, casting a shadow over the expected sequels.

A little closer to home, there was further unrest when a man was glassed over the head following an argument at a screening in Glasgow. The incident led to the arrest of three women – who knew it would have that kind of effect? One eyewitness, who had come to see the film with his wife, said: “Besides being the worst film I have ever seen, three women were getting arrested and put in a police van when we arrived.” A man with an eye for good drama if ever there was one.

So, it came, it saw, it caused a stir. Have you seen Fifty Shades of Grey yet? If so, what did you think? If not, why not? Let us know!