Box Office Report: Fifty Shades of Grey controls the #1 spot over Valentine’s Day Weekend

This week, Fifty Shades of Grey, one of the most hyped movies of our summer, finally hit screens and in results that surprised nobody, it broke Aussie box office records and is currently perched in the #1 position with takings of over $10 million. However, with generally terrible reviews (it sits at 26% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the ongoing controversy surrounding the movie, I predict a speedy downfall and look forward to next week’s results to see if I’m right.

That other (over) hyped movie, The Interview, made its way to #5, with just over half a million dollars in its opening weekend. With similarly bad reviews, this too should slip quietly from the top 10 pretty quickly. The film leaked online (deliberately) at the end of last year following that whole “spat with North Korea”, so the result probably didn’t shock Sony. The other debuts this week – Selma and What We Did On Our Holiday – ended up on the lower end of the box office in spite of strong reviews (98% and 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively).

I am delighted to see Paper Planes still holding onto its Top 10 slot, even though school went back three weeks ago. It once again proves that word of mouth can be a good thing, when the movie is good! More than anything we love to see an Aussie movie do well. It’s currently the only Australian film in the top ten.

Meanwhile, Oscar nominees American Sniper and The Imitation Game continue to perform well, as does the Colin Firth fronted film Kingsman: The Secret Service, with almost $3 million in its second weekend thanks to strong word of mouth.

Looking ahead, Fifty Shades may hold on to the top spot for at least a second week. The only major new release this week is Jupiter Ascending with Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis and Oscar nominee Eddie Redmayne. This sci-fi movie has been getting very mixed reviews overseas so its opening numbers will be interesting – it’s hard to see it reaching the top spot. Jon Stewart’s Rosewater will also be released in limited cinemas.

All figures from The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia and Box Office Mojo.

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