'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie Reveals New Release Date, First Look - Photos
The Universal Pictures adaptation of E.L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey was expected to be one of the most anticipated releases of 2014. But fans anxiously awaiting the big-screen version of the hit novel will have to wait a little longer.
In a savvy bit of marketing, the film has a new release date that places it on Valentine’s Day weekend: February 13, 2015.
The delay was to be expected, given the studio’s recent announcement that it would be pushing back the start of production in Vancouver to allow for preparations with new leading man Jamie Dornan, who took over the role once Charlie Hunnam dropped out. However, Universal insists the casting change is not the main reason for the new release date, claiming that the change would have been made even if Hunnam had not dropped out in October.
“Together with the international marketing and distribution team, we’ve been looking really closely at the August date and becoming more and more convinced that the right thing to do for the movie was to push it,” Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley told Entertainment Weekly. “So even if Charlie had stayed, we still would have been making the date change.”
Originally scheduled to release on August 1, 2014, the film faced potential competition not only from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but from the 2014 World Cup. This new release date now allows the studio to take advantage not only of Valentine's Day weekend -- with the implication being that boyfriends will be roped into seeing this by eager girlfriends, thus upping ticket sales -- but it also positions the film to make a substantial three-day weekend gross, since the release date falls on President's Day weekend as well.
Check out the official first-look at Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele from the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands now:
Credit: FRANK OCKENFELS for EW
Credit: FRANK OCKENFELS for EW
Via: Entertainment Weekly