‘50 Shades’ franchise nails its audience this Valentine’s Day

With the 14th of February approaching, we find ourselves being consumed by the lovebug of Valentine’s Day. Dinner reservations are being made and cards, roses and chocolate are flying off the shelves. But within the past few years, something less cliche has shaken up our plans: the “Fifty Shades” franchise.

The first novel of E.L. James’ trilogy, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” was released in May 2011, with the sequel “Fifty Shades Darker” coming out that same year. In 2012 the final book, “Fifty Shades Freed” was released. It wasn’t until 2015 that the first book was adapted into a film. It wasn’t until talk of the movies came into play that the book series took the world by storm, as the film itself brought much attention and hype to the now-franchise.

Just before the first film hit theaters, “Fifty Shades of Grey” could be found in nearly every woman’s hand. The franchise’s popularity soared as the release date approached, and the movie came out just before Valentine’s Day.

With all books now made into films, it’s clear by looking at movie release dates that the franchise aims to market itself on the premise of Valentine’s Day. By the numbers, it’s evident that hype is dying down for the franchise — but time pegging, audience targeting and its content itself have all brought the trilogy success.

The first film was released Feb. 13, 2015, and within the opening weekend, “Fifty Shades of Grey” surpassed its $40 million budget with domestic sales reaching $85,171,450.
The second film was released Feb. 10, 2017 – making just $46,607,250 domestically during its opening weekend, “Fifty Shades Darker”‘s $55 million budget was not met.

The latest film installment was released last Friday. During its opening weekend, “Fifty Shades Freed” grossed $38,560,195 domestically, again not meeting their $55 million budget.

Although excitement may be fading for the franchise, each film has surpassed their production budgets in total lifetime grosses. From books to movies to even sex toys, the franchise has targeted their audience in many different platforms.

Which brings us to their targeting strategy: the franchise has geared itself toward women ranging from late teens to middle-aged. What the films have done specifically is branded themselves as both date night and girls-night-out flicks. Women grab their significant others or groups of lady friends on Valentine’s Day and set out to see what Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele are up to in the newest installment.

Besides that, there’s the content itself — with topics of sex and pleasure, there is something naturally taboo about the subjects and instinctively leaving its consumer wanting to know what happens next. There’s also a lot of drama within the storylines, which leads to the same effect of wanting to come back for more. Overall, strategic timing and marketing have really given this franchise its success.