Fandango says its the most popular movie on their site ever. And Universal has already signed off on two sequels based on the pre-release buzz. So no, it’s not going to bomb.
To the OP: no, I don’t think it’s going to make BDSM more popular because the book isn’t about BDSM. It’s an adolescent fantasy about a rich and powerful man who wants a plain Jane sooooo much that he’ll have vanilla sex to get her.
I personally thought the books were charming, and a hoot. All of this anti-50-Shades stuff is a tempest in a teakettle.
I would be very surprised if it made much of a difference in BDSM. The Story of O is not exactly new, and magazines like Cosmo have been suggesting light bondage to spice things up probably since the first issue. Heck, I have a 20-year old book on “erotic massage” that works in a suggestion of tying your partner up as an interesting variation. If 50 Shades is someone’s first exposure to BDSM, they’re either 15 or they live under a rock.
We’ll see. But I’d bet Paul Verhoeven thought Showgirls was a sure thing, too.
This is what I’ve heard. I’m not into BDSM (nor have I read the book), but I know many people who very much are, and 50 Shades is universally condemned as basically rape and abuse, and the exact opposite of what the BDSM community participates in or supports.
So, let’s hope it doesn’t make what the book describes more popular.
I think its unlikely that 50 shades of grey, film or book, will have a significant effect on people’s behavior. People should realize that novelizations of these sorts of … um … extreme sexual behaviors … have been around for some time now. In the 70’s there was a film of The Story of O. If that had any sort of lasting effect, why is anyone interested the the effect of 50 shades? For that matter, The Happy Hooker took the world by storm in the 70’s too. But have we become bored with the topic as yet – no we haven’t we still debate legalization of prostitution.
A common internet meme circulating on what the marketing push for the film should be: “SECRETARY…but for dummies.”
Meh. The author is by no means beholden to respect the sensibilities of the “community”. If her version of a sadomasochistic relationship doesn’t match theirs, they’re free to not buy her book, not see the movie, or ridicule the book and/or movie mercilessly with all the freedom of expression they can muster.
Only if by “casuals” you mean “idiots who are going to get somebody killed”. The problem with Fifty Shades of Grey is that too many people - the author included - think it’s about BDSM.
It’s not.
What Christian Grey does in the books is abuse, not BDSM. He uses his money as a weapon to isolate Ana from her friends and family. He agrees not to do things to her, then does them anyway. Ana is described as being genuinely afraid of him, but doesn’t know how to get away. If he and Ana were real people, I would say she would be fully justified in using deadly force to defend herself, and that the world would be better off without him.
Now, that doesn’t mean enjoying that kind of fiction is necessarily a bad thing - I enjoy Saints Row 2 and that’s a game about a mass murderer with a grudge taking over a city - but you need to understand it for what it is.
But, he’s rich… a job creator…
Yes, the scenario in the book does not depict a safe sane and consensual BDSM relationship. That’s because it’s a masturbatory fantasy. The characters in the book don’t have to say “I’ll pretend to be a naive virginal good girl, you pretend to be a rich but brutish sadist, together we fight crime”. Instead the book skips that step and the characters just are a naive schoolgirl and cruel master.
You could write a story about a woman who fantasizes about getting dominated and meets a guy who wants to dominate her and they negotiate a safe sane consensual relationship. Or you could write a story about a woman who just gets dominated in an unsafe insane non-consensual way. But the thing is, it isn’t unsafe or insane because it’s just a story, not real life. In real life there are no billionaires with the bodies of underwear models obsessed with naive schoolgirls, and if there was one he’s got a naive schoolgirl locked in his dungeon already and isn’t looking for middle aged housewives.
I demand to be played by Javier Bardem.
As for this one… eeeh… like, nothing new under the sun. 9 and 1/2 Weeks, baby. I even read the novel. And the Anne Rice Sleeping Beauty books. We’re still waiting for the work that will “normalize” BDSM.
OTOH, this is now the biggest hit to come out of fanfic… I can just imagine the legions of ficwriters grinding their teeth.
Hmmm…
Showgirls was NC-17. It was DOA before it was ever released. That said, Showgirls existed pre-Fandango and you couldn’t know how the public would react until after the movie was released. With pre-sale tickets, we can have some idea, and 50 Shades set some kind of R-rated pre-sale record.
I thought it was going to flop hard too, but that is clearly not the case.
It’s certainly possible that it will have a huge opening weekend and then never be heard from again when people realize how horrible it is. But you know, a lot of people read the books. A whole lot. And the books were horrible. The movie could be a stinking pile and still make a bajillion dollars. Then again, reading about your fantasy pirate captain and seeing a pasty guy on screen pretending to be a pirate captain are two different things.
Somebody mentioned how there have previously been films involving BDSM in the past and this hasn’t changed much. But I gotta ask-
How many 45 year old housewives actually went to see 120 days of Sodom? Or even heard of it? This film has the momentum of a trashy novel that build up a lot of buzz on the Internet.
I have heard (no cite) that truly marketable and profitable stories/media/franchises revolve around some fantasy that might push some boundaries but is still somehow reassuring to the viewer. There are women that like to ‘fix’ men, maybe these type of women see Anastasia Steele and try to identify with in in taming the manchild millionare beast that is Mr. Gray.
I really hope there is narration, voiceovers, or something during the sex scenes, because that would be hilarious.
Anna gets something stuffed up her butt “Oh wow! Geez, you are totally doing that!” 
THANK YOU.
I keep saying this. The internet isn’t listening to me.
That’s not what she said!
The box office prognosticators are saying it’ll open north of $90 million. Even if no tickets are sold after Sunday, that would make it a huge hit and would cover its complete production budget. And that’s all before DVD/online streaming sales, which is the real money is with a movie like this.
Wow. That sounds appalling. Are you sure men and women are the same species? I may be from Mars, but that’s from a whole 'nother galaxy. 
I hope not.