The ‘Fifty Shades’ trailer is the most-watched trailer of 2014: good or bad?

The official trailer has been released for the the hotly anticipated big screen adaption of E. L. James' novel '50 Shades of Grey'

So, I just watched the Fifty Shades of Grey trailer AGAIN. I swear, I’m not really into the story and I probably won’t even see the movie in theaters, but the trailer does make the movie look fun. Better than the source material, in any case. I’ve probably watched the trailer about five times since it was released online less than a week ago. And I’m not alone. It looks like the Fifty Shades trailer is the most-watched, most-popular trailer of 2014… so far?

The Fifty Shades phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down. The first trailer for the erotic drama based on the best-selling EL James novel has racked up a stunning 36.4 million YouTube views since its release on July 24, according to technology firm Zefr, which tracks the numbers.

Fifty Shades had the best opening week for any trailer in 2014. The previous high was the 31 million views Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got in its debut frame at the end of March. Godzilla and Transformers: Age of Extinction both notched 26.3 million views in their first weeks, while Dumb and Dumber Too did 23.5 million.

Transformers, which was released on June 27, has grossed about $966 million worldwide. Godzilla, which was released on May 16, has grossed about $498 million worldwide to date. TMNT hits theaters on Aug. 8, while Dumb and Dumber Too opens Nov. 14.

The Fifty Shades trailer was released so it could play before Lucy, the new action movie starring Scarlett Johansson. Fifty Shades arrives in theaters on Valentine’s Day 2015.

[From THR]

I personally think so many people watched the TMNT trailer because the CGI turtles are more terrifying than any horror film. But when I see the list of all of the other trailers that made a big impact, I don’t hate the fact that Fifty Shades has come out on top (for now). Just think… the most watched trailer of 2014 could be a film lacking in CGI and crazy special effects. It could be a female-audience driven film. That’s actually really important.

Plus, I think we’re going to find that no matter how terrible and awkward the press tour turns out to be, women will still be curious enough about the film to make this a big hit. And yes, it was smart to push it back to a February 2015 release. Here’s the trailer again:

And in case you’re thirsty for more Jamie Dornan, the BBC released a trailer for Season 2 of The Fall. Yay, bearded Dornan! This trailer is so creepy.

The official trailer has been released for the the hotly anticipated big screen adaption of E. L. James' novel '50 Shades of Grey'

The official trailer has been released for the the hotly anticipated big screen adaption of E. L. James' novel '50 Shades of Grey'

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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93 Responses to “The ‘Fifty Shades’ trailer is the most-watched trailer of 2014: good or bad?”

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  1. Hello Kitty says:

    I’m all for anything that encourages women to get their rocks off! Badly written Twilight fan-fiction or not!

    • Snazzy says:

      haha true enough!

      And you’re right (Kaiser), it is important that a movie with a female fan base does big numbers, just to send a message that it’s not only super hero films that are worth producing (even though I do love me my super heros …)

    • alex_r says:

      What about a badly written fanfic that portrays textbook abuse in a domestic situation? Should women really have to read insulting drivel like that to get their rocks off when there are far better material available?

      • Ari says:

        Sorry, this isn’t abuse. Like it or not, some women, and men, enjoy a BDSM relationship/lifestyle, which is perfectly normal. I understand if this offends you, but others find it kinky…and healthy. Just telling it like it is.

      • Vesta says:

        I agree with Ari, BDSM isn’t abusive per se. Far from it. If two adults deliberately make a deal how they want to play the bedroom game, that’s not abuse.

      • WendyNerd says:

        It’s not the BDSM that’s the problem, nor is it remotely what people who say Fifty Shades is abuse are talking about. And it is insulting to assume that that is what people are referring to. It’s pretty much every other part of the relationship in those books that people are referring to when talking about the abuse in the series. There is no part of Christian and Ana’s relationship that ISN’T horrifying, and it has nothing to do with what kind of sex they have. Read Jenny Trout’s recaps. She’s involved in BDSM, openly so, and she’s disgusted by these books BECAUSE THEY PROMOTE DOMESTIC ABUSE.

      • Ange says:

        What WendyNerd said, especially about Jenny Trout. Then go read Jenny’s BDSM series ‘The Boss’ and see how a proper book about this stuff reads.

        Every intelligent discussion about this book I’ve read online discusses the relationship dynamics as abusive, particularly in regards to consent and control outside of the bedroom, nothing at all about the BDSM.

      • I’ll have to take your word for it. I couldn’t get through it. It was just too poorly-concieved.

    • Maria says:

      Me too!!! I don’t care what everyone says out loud about this book/movie being bad when the numbers don’t lie on the sales of the book and I’m sure for the movie as well. I didn’t think the books was all great but I can’t wait to see Dornan!!!!

  2. QQ says:

    Terrible..this is why they keep shitting on us women as moviegoers/watchers/tastemakers …just giving us terrible fare and Kate Hudson and Jennifer Aniston Things

    this is literally the glorification of bad writing, simple women and dressing up an abusive stalkey incommunicative “relationship” with a huge power differential, calling it S&M (erroneously may I add cause Ds relationships hinge on Informed WILLING Consent, not manipulation) and then making it cute cause LURRVES!, which is abjectly gross (and I say this as a person happy with Kinksters and openly into sex, not having hang ups about it/porn etc)

    on that Note Mara Wilson (little girl from Mathilda) at @MaraWritesStuff take down of this trailer/50 shades was EPIC- she also recommended ” The Boss” series from Abigail Barnette

    • Lindy79 says:

      I can’t applaud this enough!
      I got so annoyed with some of my friends when we were discussing this. If I heard “it’s just a book” one more time I was going to punch one of them.
      There are countless women who think he is the perfect guy and this is the best selling book in god knows how long so it’s dangerous to just say “it’s only a book”. Its part of pop culture now and forever. Criticising it means you’re lumped into some sort of repressed anti sex person group.
      I’m just anti this shit book and film.

    • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F) says:

      I agree with everything you said!

    • Snazzy says:

      I do see what you’re saying about the book, honestly. But the women are eating it up! And while many of us (me included!!) hate the idea of this idiocy being a success, part of me is happy that for once there will be a movie that is female driven success (again, despite detesting the objectification and abuse in the book etc) outside of the usual RomCom stuff (that I actually kinda like sometimes, truth be told …)

      • Women are eating it up because it is the first overtly sexual novel that has come out in a while that is aimed at women. It’s just too bad that Margaret Atwood or Pam Houston didn’t write it, because then it would likely be worth of all this hype. People were just hungry for some sex after all the neo-conservative crap that has dominated the media for so long And rightly so. It’s just a shame that this was the one that came along.

    • TX Laney says:

      THANK YOU!!!! My gods I did not understand the appeal of this craptastic fanfiction that turned into a craptastic book that will be a craptastic movie! I don’t understand how people say that he is the “perfect” man. Unless you like your men controlling, manipulative, soulless sociopath serial killers then have at it!

      I hate this crap.

    • T.C. says:

      Have to say I was surprised that the trailer was much better than the cheesy Twilighy imitation I was expecting but I hear you QQ. Like Twilight this fan fiction appears to encourage the scary image of the controlling domineering male as a romantic figure. With such popularity as the trailer and movie might get we will have to deal with more studios making copycats of this crap for the next 10 years.

    • AlexandraJane says:

      AMAZING post. Perfect.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Brilliant, QQ. Well said!

    • Dawn says:

      Standing O from me! Well said and spot on.

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      I didn’t waste my time reading “Fifty Shades of Gray” and I won’t bother seeing it, either. If you ever find yourself wanting to explore the subject, check Netflix for a (2002) film called “Secretary” with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It didn’t make any money at the Box Office, but man was I riveted to the screen.

      http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/secretary/

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274812/?ref_=nv_sr_1

    • Ange says:

      Yes again to ‘The Boss!’ I’ve got all of it so far and really enjoyed it.

      Abigail Barnette, or Jenny Trout as she’s known on the blogosphere has also done an amazing takedown of the 50SOG books chapter by chapter on her Trout Nation blog. Hilarious and thought provoking.

  3. Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F) says:

    Bad. The book was already a unhealthy mess describing an abusive relationship.

  4. Jane says:

    I understand the comment about it being a famale driven audience- and that is important given the options coming from Hollywood, however the theme is certainly not female-friendly as it still paints is as the bumbling,naive, oh-where-would-I-be-without a man teaching me about my sexuality (oh my!) lip biting idiots. I have read the books and there are many rapey undertones to the sex.
    It would be interesting to see what would have happened if the sexes were reversed?

  5. Abbott says:

    Ooops, just noticed I’ve had the FSoG trailer looping on a hidden tab for the last week. My bad. I’m waiting for someone to mash up the 50 Shades trailer with some ominous horror movie music.

  6. Dani says:

    I’m not over the fact that they couldn’t do anything about the bags under her eyes? I get that she’s supposed to be plain and uninspiring but she looks rough. Even moisturizer would have helped.

    Also!! Mara Wilson (Matilda) recommended a book similar to 50 Shades, The Boss by Abigail Barnette. Finished it yesterday. Not amazing but way better than 50. The next few parts seem like overkill, though.

    • QQ says:

      Ha! I just talked about Mara on the Upthread!!

      Im going to tell you why they didnt do anything about the bags…find you a pic of E.L. James… That’s your answer.. She thinks this girl is some type of version of her..which is both creepy and gross

      • Dani says:

        I saw the tweets on tumblr where she recommended the book so I had to read it. It’s just a taaaaad better.

        I always had a feeling she wrote it with herself in mind. I think she even admitted it somewhere or I’m imagining it. She comes off as creepy, especially because she has bangs and a similar hair style to Ana and I just can’t.

      • Eve says:

        @ QQ:

        “Im going to tell you why they didnt do anything about the bags…find you a pic of E.L. James… That’s your answer.. She thinks this girl is some type of version of her..which is both creepy and gross”

        That’s EXACTLY what I think. There’s some (or a lot) of projection going on there.

    • phoebe says:

      Actually, The Boss series is not so great. It just gets worse. I think she tried to hard to write better FSOG fanfic, but fell flat with whiny, shallow protagonists and a story that drags just as bad as FSOG. The book is not worth your time. Nothing good ever comes from FSOG. Seriously, people stop it. Also, did anyone notice how much Dakota looks like James. Is this why she was cast? I agree with the Daily Beast, the trailer is ridiculous and managed to make me cringe and laugh all at the same time.

  7. Eve says:

    You know when people say “I wouldn’t watch this for all the money in the world”, well…not me. I’d totally watch this for all the money in the world — other than that, no deal.

    • don't kill me i'm french says:

      LOL

    • Sixer says:

      Oh, good game!

      I’d watch it for…

      A full year off laundry duty.
      A weekly best seat in the house for a theatre production of my choice for a year.
      A holiday in Iceland during which I am GUARANTEED a view of the Northern Lights.

      Quite cheap in comparison to you, Eve, ain’t I?!

    • eliza says:

      Lol.

    • Reece says:

      LOL
      With the state of my finances I’d sit through a marathon of this Twilight and 5 Michael Bey movies just for 8 figures. Left of the decimal.

    • lunchcoma says:

      I’m cheaper than all you ladies. I hate read the book just so I could mock it while actually knowing what I’m talking about. Give me a bottle of wine and my snarkiest friend and I’ll sit through this when it comes out on HBO.

    • kri says:

      I would watch it if Tom Hardy was watching it with me naked.

    • j.eyre says:

      I would watch it if…

      I’m not even going to pretend I am not easy: buy me dinner and a decent bottle of wine before hand and I’ll sit through a double feature.

  8. eliza says:

    Not good or bad, just sad.

  9. OhDear says:

    I have no intention of seeing the movie, but watched the trailer (1) because it’s being hyped as all hell and (2) was curious to see, uh, how bad the movie will end up being. There are likely many others who think the same way.

    • FingerBinger says:

      I watched it out of curiosity and to make fun of it. I guess that’s what a lot of other people did too.

      • You could do like an MST3K and turn the volume off and get a few of your friends to make up the dialogue as you go along.

        Now THAT would be a fun night out. Do you live in Scotland? I’m totally coming over. I’ll bring wine.

  10. Nicolette says:

    Really? Maybe people are using it to help with their insomnia because to me it was just one big snooze fest. Boring as a piece of dry toast.

  11. TTMuch says:

    I just don’t understand why he looks confused all the time! And she is so badly miscast. I will say that the trailer looks better on the big screen, so I’m hoping that the visuals will be decent while I hate-watch in a few months

    • sigh((s)) says:

      He’s confused as to how he got roped into making this movie.

      • Lisa says:

        I saw him in The Fall on Netflix and he’s a really good actor. I have no idea what this book is , but he is hot.

  12. lisa says:

    it looks like a naked lifetime movie. except that the actress is insipid even by lifetime standards. why not just use a gigantic bowl of oatmeal?

  13. Mali says:

    Love me some Dornan any way I can get him so yes, i will rewatch that trailer as many times as I need to in order to get through the day. Golden torso in those jeans? YUP!

    plus I cant wait for the Fall.

    People are taking this movie wayyy too seriously. Chill out and enjoy the Dornan.

    • Vesta says:

      Hehe, I’m with you; I’m chilling & enjoying The Dornan.
      Mmmm, there’s PLENTY of him to enjoy…

      I hope all this is going to be as fun as it seems.

  14. kimbers says:

    Skipped the hoopla about these books and didnt read them, so I’m not sure if it’s suppose to seem like a straight to netflix movie. It does and it also seems targeted to the lonley and horny.

  15. greenmonster says:

    There are opening weeks for trailers?

    Nothing good comes with that trash called FSOG. It was not only horribly written (I couldn’t go on after page six or seven, because it was awful – I have to thank Jenny Trout for reading and recapping this mess), but it is glorifying abuse. The movie will be very successful and that is more than just sad!

  16. Calcifer says:

    Haven’t read the books and am probably not going to see the film, but I have to say that Dakota Johnson looks very pretty, in a vulnerable, girlish way. I am surprised they chose her for the role instead of a more conventionally pretty/sexy girl. Hope she will still get interesting roles after being cast in this film, though.

    • alex_r says:

      She was chosen because she looks a lot like the author. That’s right folks, the writer imagines herself as the female lead. Take that as you will.

  17. Cali says:

    I get that we need to send a message that women want to be catered to with films, but GOOD films. I’m not knocking the movie because I haven’t seen it, but based on the books themselves, pass. I wonder how well it’s going to do in the theater. I think that MANY of the women reading this series will be too shy/conservative/whatever to actually be caught in the movie theater seeing this. Most women I know read the books and will only admit it to others who have first said they’ve read them. It’s something they’re reading under the covers and not broadcasting to the world. I’m sure some will drag their husbands and some will go in groups, but I think the majority will skip it or maybe wait for the privacy of dvd. But that’s just my guess. It could wind up being a huge huge hit.

    I do think Dakota is a beautiful woman, but those bangs are just tragic. And Jamie is a good looking guy and good actor, but I just don’t feel any “smolder” and domineering confidence in those clips.

    P.S. if you want to read a hysterically funny review of the books, look up Katrina Passick Lumsden on Goodreads. Or google it that way and it should pop up. I read them like 2 years ago and still have it bookmarked to read every once in a while. They are laugh out loud funny if you’ve read the books already and even if you haven’t…

    • lunchcoma says:

      I agree that the movie will likely have trouble finding an audience in theaters. I suspect that there’s not a lot of crossover between women who will go to theaters to see NC-17 rated films about sex and women who think that the sex in 50 Shades of Grey is anything very exciting or daring. I also don’t see it doing terribly well internationally, as films with lots of dialogue and strong sexual content tend not to travel very well.

    • sigh((s)) says:

      I don’t think it will have trouble finding an audience at all. It’s the same Audience that had no shame in going to Magic Mike. My dear friend dragged me to that one for a laugh, and let me tell you, those women weren’t embarrassed at all. And I live in an *extremely* conservative town.

    • patricia says:

      Fifty Shades of Bullsh-t is also a funny tumblr page to visit. The Sporkings Of Das Mervin and Company are also funny. Katrina’s review, well, that’s epic.

  18. Ciria says:

    That trailer has been everywhere on Facebook and online. I have no interest in the books be cause everyone said they were written so poorly and I could barely get through the first Twilight book. I will probably see the movie though. When it comes out on Redbox for $1.25.

    It looks extremely campy.

  19. Dany says:

    In the comments people ask about the new Beyonce remix. I´m no Beyonce fan but after watching the trailer i wanted to hear the full song. I predict the movie soundtrack will be extreme successful too

  20. kri says:

    When the trailer came out the other day, I watched it and laughed. I will take my Dornan in The Fall, not in any shade of grey. When I got to work, the women in my office (most of them) were flipping out. Everyone was joking about how they are all going to be pregnant feb. 16th. If any of those women have ever even seen a riding crop outside of a stable, I’ll be shocked.God, it’s embarassing.

  21. Mandy says:

    I couldn’t care less about the books but that girl is just not hot.

  22. Innie Outie says:

    I *honestly* can’t decide what saddens me more in that top of most viewed trailers: Fifty Shades of Grey or Transformers 4, which I hated with such a passion that, being usually very well-behaved in public places, I couldn’t help vehemently commenting on it during its screening at the theatre (not ashamed of myself this time, sorry) and was virtually at the point of throwing my empty soda bottle at the screen when I realised that, at 2 hours 30 minutes, it was STILL REFUSING TO END!!!! 😀

    P.S. Soda bottle was plastic.
    P.P.S. I’m now arguing with myself whether I should risk watching FSOG at the theatre. What if I’m not able to squash my bottle-throwing impulse this time??

  23. Kelly says:

    First time commenting! And doing so because I wanted to share that I tried reading the first book. I had actually read about a writer who had a “Margin Scribble Party” with a book of Dan Brown’s. Basically the premise is: read a not-so-great book, write comments in the margin, share with a friend who does the same and compare. It’s kinda like a long drawn-out written book club. I have these three guy friends who I used to do a movie review blog site with. They’re all friends from our Southern Baptist college. One’s an English prof, one’s the Tech/Office Manager of a church in TN, and another is a Theology prof at Baylor. I’m the group’s atheist. Anyway, I thought it would be FANTASTIC to have a Margin Scribble Party with this book – it would be a solid excuse to finally see what all the hub-bub was about and to swindle these godly men into reading it. They were all on board, with me leading the way. Alas, my plans were thwarted as I couldn’t make it past chapter 8. I had so many notes, the majority of which were just eye rolls and “huh?” that there wouldn’t have been room for their ink, anyway. But I must say, that little elevator scene does make me curious…

  24. sigh((s)) says:

    I cannot wait for The Fall. Deliciously creepy. Love Gillian Anderson and Dornan.

  25. Melly says:

    I find it so funny how many commentators on facebook or under other articles about the trailer write that Charlie Hunnam is their Christian Grey, is everything Christian Grey should be and so on. Now, suddenley…LOL

  26. Bread and Circuses says:

    Well, that was sexier than I was expecting, but then I was expecting this movie to be a fountainhead of second-hand embarrassment. Good job by the trailer’s editors and potentially the film makers too.

    Still, I didn’t read Twilight, and I didn’t read 50 Shades of Grey, so it’s reeeeeeally unlikely I’ll ever see this movie. 🙂

  27. Aagje says:

    I feel bad for Jamie Dornan. When he appeared on Graham Norton and was asked about this movie, you could see him cringe in embarrassment… And he is a damn good actor in The Fall, so why would someone with that potential take on this role?

    And seriously, cannot wait for The Fall to return. One of the best crime-shows I have seen.

    • lunchcoma says:

      I don’t feel that bad for him. He went into this project with his eyes open, and the reason he did it is that people are talking about him by name now rather than referring to a couple of his TV roles.

    • Innie Outie says:

      I agree with @lunchcoma. It was his choice. I also think that, since he’d agreed to take part in it, it’ll only be professional if he makes an effort to at least be intriguingly neutral about it in interviews. OR go all the way and rip his shirt, throw dust up on his head and say it’s the stupidest film EVER and he’ll NEVER reprise Grey’s role lol.

  28. Ari says:

    Based on the comments above, I’m just super ecstatic that the movie theater will be virtually empty when I go and see it. And go see it again. And again. This movie looks delicious and I cannot wait!

  29. MourningTheDeathOfMusic says:

    I can’t bring myself to read it. I won’t be going to watch it. I have an avid bibliophile who gave me the run down. It’s poorly written and dreadfully dull, this from a greatly well versed person. Other friends have told me, if anything, the book is very “vanilla” when it comes to kinky sex, sounding as if it comes from a lonely housewife who had no real idea what kink is.

    Yeah, no thanks.

    • Don’t bother reading it. I had been slating it without reading it, and this summer finally decided to put my money where my mouth was. Couldn’t get through it. Not even the sex parts. It’s boring, and the sex is surprisingly bland.

      It feels like it was written by someone who has never been to Seattle, or even the USA, and is writing from what their idea of what it is like would be. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. As someone who lived in Seattle for YEARS, a guy like this with his helicopter through the centre of town would get rocks thrown at him.

  30. Layla says:

    I clicked on his Graham Norton interview in which he talks about his funny way of walking and noticed he seems to do it in the shirtless blue jeans scene. Lady boner GONE. Won’t pay money to see this drivel.

  31. raindrop says:

    Based on what I’ve heard about the book, the trailer suggests that the movie will, at least, be the better of the two. Jamie Dornan’s babyface sort of ruins the vibe they’re going for with Christian Grey, but on the bright side his babyface also takes the edge off the whole abusive-boyfriend-who’s-really-not-so-abusive-because-teh-sex thing… if that makes any sense.

  32. Tig says:

    The trailer for season 2 of The Fall creeped me out in a major way. If he brings 1/10 of the intensity to this part that he exhibits in TF, I think the movie will be fine.

  33. Sol says:

    I don’t care what everyone says about the books, I like it. I mean, it’s not Hemingway or anything, it’s just plain fiction but it accomplished what it promised. Anyway, I have watched the trailer about 10 times already but mostly cause of Jamie Dornan. He’s freakin hot and a great choice for Grey.

  34. Nibbi says:

    Haven’t read the books, think the whole rip-off of the Twilight premise is lame (taking off from a badly written series by writing another even more badly written series?? – I picked it up in the bookstore and had to put it down in shame not from the sex stuff but from the sheer awfulness of the writing ugh), have a sense of pride in myself (snobbish yes) for a more high-brow taste in culture…
    … and I’ve watched this trailer several times and love it, and wonder if I should hate myself 😉 It’s just hot, the guy is hot, the dynamic in the trailer is hot… I know nothing about the circumstances of the relationship in the book, although I do think it’s troubling that there are so many of these fantasies about the man holding all the reins when what I think a lot of young women need are better examples in pop culture about self-secure enterprising chicks not self-hating shrinking violets who inexplicably fascinate powerful, wealthy men …
    so yeah, guess i should hate myself for loving this trailer. it’s just well made. the beyoncé song and the climax of the music being when they’re turning in the airplane is exciting, that kiss is exciting. argh