‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Movie Ticket Sales Break Record Ahead Of Feb. 13 Release Date

You know what’s hotter than Jamie Dornan playing the sex-obsessed Christian Grey in "Fifty Shades of Grey"? The advance ticket sales for the steamy film, which will be released on Valentine’s Day weekend, Friday, Feb 13.

According to Fandango, tickets for the film, based on E.L. James' best-selling erotic novel, are so coveted that “Fifty Shades” has been dubbed the fastest-selling R-rated movie in 15 years. It reportedly has sold more tickets in its first week of advance sales than “Sex and the City 2,” “The Hangover Part II," “The Hangover Part III” and “Gone Girl.”

“Fifty Shades” also has set a record for most tickets in its first week of advance sales for a nonsequel; the previous champ was 2012's “The Hunger Games.”

“Very few books can claim true national phenomenon status – and ‘Fifty Shades’ ranks with ‘Twilight,’ ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Gone Girl’ as novels that entered the zeitgeist from coast to coast,” Dave Karger, chief correspondent at Fandango, said in a statement.

Karger added that fans of James’ trilogy of novels about Anastasia Steele, a young woman exploring her sexual desires, have been waiting years to watch the characters come to life on screen. “And they are clearly fueling the sensational advance sales,” he said.

While Jamie Dornan of TV's "Once Upon a Time" embodies young entrepreneur Christian Grey in the film, Dakota Johnson ("Ben and Kate") takes on Anastasia. The $40 million production is predicted to rake in $60 million in its first weekend, according to BoxOffice.com.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” will be released in theaters on Friday, Feb. 13.