Fifty Shades of Grey (film)

Fifty Shades of Grey
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Taylor-Johnson
Screenplay byKelly Marcel
Based onFifty Shades of Grey
by E. L. James
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySeamus McGarvey
Edited by
Music byDanny Elfman
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • February 9, 2015 (2015-02-09) (Los Angeles)
  • February 13, 2015 (2015-02-13) (United States)
Running time
125 minutes[2]
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[3]
Box office$569.7 million[3]

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 erotic romantic drama film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. Produced by Focus Features, Michael De Luca Productions, and Trigger Street Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is based on E. L. James' 2011 novel of the same name, and serves as the first installment in the Fifty Shades film series. Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle and Marcia Gay Harden, the film's story follows Anastasia "Ana" Steele (Johnson), a college graduate, who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey (Dornan).

Development of the film commenced in March 2012, when Universal and Focus Features secured the rights to the trilogy following a bidding war. After Marcel was hired to write the film's screenplay, multiple directors, including Joe Wright, Patty Jenkins, Bill Condon, Bennett Miller, and Steven Soderbergh, were attached to the film. Taylor-Johnson was confirmed as the director in June 2013. She cited 9½ Weeks (1986), Last Tango in Paris (1972), and Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013) as her inspirations for the film. The main cast joined the project between October and December 2013. Principal photography commenced in December 2013 and concluded in February 2014. Reshoots involving scenes between Dornan and Johnson took place in Vancouver during the week of October 2014. Danny Elfman was hired to compose the film's score.

Fifty Shades of Grey premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2015, and was released in IMAX formats on February 13, by Universal Pictures. Despite receiving mixed to unfavorable reviews, it was an immediate box office success, breaking numerous box office records and earning $569.7 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million. The soundtrack album was also successful; "Love Me Like You Do", by English singer Ellie Goulding, was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, while "Earned It", by Canadian singer the Weeknd, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards.

The film was the most awarded at the 36th Golden Raspberry Awards, winning five of six nominations, including Worst Picture (tied with Fantastic Four) and both leading roles. Fifty Shades of Grey was succeeded by two sequels: Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, released in 2017 and 2018, respectively, both of which received similar negative critical reception but commercial success.

  1. ^ a b c d "Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "Fifty Shades of Grey (18)". British Board of Film Classification. February 2, 2015. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2016.