Weekend Box Office Predictions: ‘Fifty Shades’ Of Green In Store For Universal

Industry watchers are calling it one of the biggest potential Valentine’s Day weekends at the movies. “Fifty Shades of Grey” is set to tie up around $60 million in the domestic box office alone, according to Deadline. With its worldwide release, the romance film could spank a total of $100 million out of curious moviegoers this weekend. It could very well be that “Fifty Shades of Grey” will be the highest-grossing film from a female director (Sam Taylor-Johnson) and the first movie to cross the $100 million dollar mark to include the word “fisting” in its script.

"Fifty Shades" will undoubtedly unseat last weekend’s squishy box office champ, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.” Parents looking for something more kid-friendly over the three-day weekend will possibly see the popular live-animated movie, or if the youngsters are mature enough for some action, catch “The Kingsmen: The Secret Service.” The 20th Century Fox release from director Matthew Vaughn ("X-Men: First Class") is looking to do steady business at around $30 million over the holiday weekend after a series of delayed openings. The movie has already premiered in star Colin Firth’s home country of England.

With only mere days to go before the Academy Awards, don’t expect to see much of a drop in ticket sales for “American Sniper” or “The Imitation Game" either. Both contenders are locked in a fierce advertising campaign that will probably last until the ceremony concludes on Feb. 22. “Birdman,” “Selma,” and “The Theory of Everything” are still doing decent business in the top 15, but we’ll see if the smaller arthouse fares can stand the weight of “Grey’s” theatrical domination.