Fifty Shades Made a Whole Lot of Money This Weekend

Fifty Shades of Grey made a godalmighty fortune this weekend, hoovering up $81.7 million at the box office. That makes it the biggest President’s Day weekend opener ever, beating 2010’s Valentine’s Day.

That’s according to Variety, pointing out the flick “performed like a comic book movie, albeit one with much naughtier costumes.” (Sure, if you’re titillated by Christian Grey’s suit collection.) It’ll likely do $90 million or more before the three-day weekend ends. It’s now the second largest February opener ever, behind… wait for it… The Passion of the Christ.

Now, Fifty Shades isn’t my thing, and this means that E.L. James is yet another $5 richer than God today. But it’s also worth noting that, as the Hollywood Reporter points out, these results make Fifty Shades the biggest movie ever directed by a woman. Sam Taylor-Johnson, was it worth all the scrapping with E.L. James? Anyway, maybe Hollywood will take the umpteenth hint and start making more movies without worrying about how they’re going to appeal to 15-year-old boys. Here are some suggestions to start.