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We can now expect to see ’50 Shades of Grey’ on our big screens on February 13, 2015.
The highly anticipated feature was due for release on August 1, 2014 but Universal Pictures has shifted the date to Valentine’s Day weekend.
Why? Perhaps for a number of reasons:
A change of casting saw Charlie Hunnam replaced by Jamie Dornan for the lead role of Christian Grey. Hunnam’s unexpected resignation from the project prompted expectations of a delay.
These expectations proved reality when, days after Dornan’s casting, it was announced that production would begin in early-December 2013, as opposed to the original plan of November.
However Universal was reviewing the film’s release date regardless of the loss of Charlie Hunnam. The move will see ’50 Shades’ burst into cinemas over Valentine’s Day weekend. No doubt execs are expecting the film to set up a date night to remember.
Also contributing to the move is the packed line up already set for the summer release date next year. Had it been released in August 2014, ’50 Shades’ would have had to compete with giants such as Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.
Internationally, August will also be a very busy month next year, with many studios pushing other release dates out from June/July to August, in a bid to avoid competition with the World Cup in Brazil.
Universal Pictures Chairperson Donna Langley told Entertainment Weekly: “We see this movie as a global event. The strength of this book is really worldwide, so we want to be able to take advantage of women who are invariably on vacation with their families during the month of August in Europe.”
’50 Shades of Grey’ will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy) for Focus Features. The film will star Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele.
