Fifty Shades Freed (film)

Fifty Shades Freed is a 2018 American erotic romantic drama film directed by James Foley and written by Niall Leonard, and based on E. L. James's 2012 novel of the same name. It is the third and final installment in the Fifty Shades film series, following Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and Fifty Shades Darker (2017). The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, and follows the couple as they marry, and must deal with Ana's former boss (Eric Johnson), who begins to stalk them.

Fifty Shades Freed
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Foley
Screenplay byNiall Leonard
Based onFifty Shades Freed
by E. L. James
Produced by
  • Michael De Luca
  • E. L. James
  • Dana Brunetti
  • Marcus Viscidi
Starring
CinematographyJohn Schwartzman
Edited by
  • Richard Francis-Bruce
  • Debra Neil-Fisher
  • David Clark
Music byDanny Elfman
Production
companies
  • Perfect World Pictures
  • Michael De Luca Productions
  • Trigger Street Productions
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • February 6, 2018 (2018-02-06) (Paris)
  • February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55 million[2]
Box office$372 million[2]

Principal photography on Fifty Shades Freed began simultaneously with Darker in February 2016, in Paris and Vancouver. The film was released in the United States on February 9, 2018, including a limited IMAX release. It was a box office success, grossing over $370 million worldwide against a production budget of $55 million. It is the lowest-grossing film of the trilogy. Like its two predecessors, Fifty Shades Freed received negative reviews, with criticism for its screenplay and acting.

Plot

Newlyweds Christian and Anastasia are forced to cut their honeymoon short and return home after receiving news of a break-in at his corporate headquarters. Some computer files were stolen and security camera tapes identify the perpetrator as Jack Hyde, Ana's former boss who was fired for sexual assault. Meanwhile, Ana is introduced to her new personal security team.

Christian surprises Ana with a new house and has hired an attractive architect, Gia Matteo, to rebuild it for her. She is annoyed when Gia openly flirts with him in her presence. Ana privately threatens to fire Gia if she keeps it up, forcing her to stop.

When Christian is away on a business trip, Ana disregards his wishes that she stay at home, and meets her friend, Kate Kavanagh, for a drink. Kate is dating Christian's older brother Elliot and fears Elliot may be having an affair with Gia, his business associate. Jack Hyde attempts to kidnap Ana when she gets home. Ana's security team subdues him and he is arrested.

After arguing with Christian about her night out with Kate, Ana berates him for being overly controlling and possessive and demands more freedom. Soon after, he surprises her with a trip to Aspen, bringing along Kate, Elliot, Mia, and José. Elliot proposes to Kate, who accepts. It is revealed that Gia was only helping Elliot choose the ring.

The newlyweds continue with their erotic sexual experimentation, but it becomes complicated when Ana announces she is pregnant. Christian is deeply disturbed, saying he had other plans for their early years together. He leaves, going on a night-long drunken bender. After he returns, Ana discovers that Christian had texted and met his ex-lover and former BDSM dominant, Elena Lincoln. She becomes angry with him and locks herself in the playroom for the night. He searches for Ana in the morning and they continue arguing, with Ana telling Christian how important the baby is to her.

Shortly after, Hyde is released on a $500,000 bond and phones demanding a ransom for Mia, Christian's abducted sister. Hyde demands $5 million in cash in two hours and threatens to kill her if his demands are not met. He warns Ana to tell no one and to bring the money alone. Ana takes a chequebook and revolver from Christian's desk and goes to the bank to withdraw the full amount.

The suspicious bank manager calls Christian. He thinks Ana is leaving him but then notices it coincides with Hyde's recent release, Mia's unknown whereabouts, and Ana's sudden large cash withdrawal. Hyde instructs Ana to get into a car parked in the alley and to hand over her phone to the driver to discard. She tricks Hyde by taking the bank manager's phone and slipping hers into the bag of money. She exits the back entrance to discover that the driver and Jack's accomplice is her co-worker, Liz.

Ana arrives at the drop-off site with the money. Hyde, psychotic and vengeful, attacks her, kicking her abdomen. Liz tries to stop him as Ana pulls out the revolver and shoots him in the leg. Christian and his security team, who electronically tracked Ana's cell phone, arrive and apprehend Hyde and Liz. Ana blacks out as she hears Christian's voice.

Ana awakens three days later in the hospital with Christian at her side. Though angry at her recklessness and still anxious about fatherhood, he realizes how important their baby is to her, and they reconcile. Christian's adoptive mother, Grace, assures him that Ana will not leave him. She returns home the next day.

Christian's private investigator, Welch, has left a report showing that Christian and Hyde had shared the same foster family, though he has no memory of this. Hyde was envious of Christian being adopted by the wealthy Grey family instead of him. Hyde also blackmailed Liz into being his accomplice. Christian and Ana also find out where his birth mother is buried. They visit her grave and he lays flowers on it.

While Christian is playing his piano, Ana walks through the hallway to the living room to watch Christian. As she's watching him, flashbacks of Christian and Ana's time together are shown with "Love Me like You Do" playing. Ana then decides she wants to play. She sends him a text message to get his attention. As Christian joins Ana in the playroom, the music continues to play as Christian shuts the door, right after seeing Ana smile.

Seven months later, Christian and Ana have a son named Teddy and three years later Ana is pregnant with their second child.

Cast
  • Dakota Johnson as Anastasia "Ana" Grey, Christian's wife and Teddy's mother.
  • Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, Ana's husband and Teddy's father
  • Eric Johnson as Jack Hyde, Ana's former boss and stalker.
  • Eloise Mumford as Katherine Kavanagh, Ana's best friend and Elliot Grey's fiancée.
  • Rita Ora as Mia Grey, the adoptive daughter of Carrick Grey and Dr. Grace Trevelyan Grey, and younger sister of Christian and Elliot Grey.
  • Luke Grimes as Elliot Grey, older brother of Christian and Mia Grey, and Katherine's fiancé.
  • Victor Rasuk as José Rodriguez, one of Anastasia's friends.
  • Max Martini as Jason Taylor, Christian's bodyguard.
  • Jennifer Ehle as Carla May Wilks, Anastasia's mother.
  • Kim Basinger as Elena Lincoln, Christian's former dominant. (Unrated Version only)
  • Marcia Gay Harden as Grace Trevelyan Grey, Christian's adoptive mother.
  • Bruce Altman as Jerry Roach.
  • Arielle Kebbel as Gia Matteo, the architect recommended by Elliot Grey to design Anastasia and Christian's future home.
  • Callum Keith Rennie as Ray, Anastasia's former stepfather.
  • Robinne Lee as Ros Bailey, Christian's second in command.
  • Brant Daugherty as Luke Sawyer, Ana's bodyguard.
  • Amy Price-Francis as Liz Morgan, Jack's accomplice.
  • Tyler Hoechlin as Boyce Fox, a popular author whose books are published by SIP.
  • Ashleigh LaThrop as Hannah, Ana's co-worker and friend.
  • Fay Masterson as Gail Jones, Christian's housekeeper.
  • Hiro Kanagawa as Detective Clark.

Production

Universal Pictures and Focus Features secured the rights to the trilogy in March 2012.[3] The films were produced by Michael De Luca Productions.[3][4] At a fan screening of the first film in New York City on February 6, 2015, director Sam Taylor-Johnson confirmed that the book sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed would also be adapted, with the first sequel then set to be released in 2016.[5] After the announcement, Taylor-Johnson told Digital Spy that "It's not my decision [to return], and I haven't been privy to any of the discussions."[6] On November 12, 2015, TheWrap reported that James Foley would direct both sequels, which would be shot back-to-back in 2016, with Niall Leonard writing the script and Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti returning to produce, along with E. L. James and Marcus Viscidi.[7] Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan were also set to return in the lead roles.[7] On February 8, 2016, Arielle Kebbel was cast in the film to play Gia Matteo, a beautiful architect who is hired by Christian to build his home,[8] and on February 12, 2016, Eric Johnson was cast as Jack Hyde, Ana's boss at SIP and stalker.[9] On February 20, 2016, Brant Daugherty signed on to play Sawyer, the personal bodyguard for Anastasia.[10]

Filming

In November 2015, Universal Studios announced that Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed would be shot back-to-back, with principal photography scheduled to commence in early 2016.[11] Filming took place in Paris and Vancouver from February 9, 2016, to July 12, 2016, under the working title "Further Adventures of Max and Banks 2 & 3".[12][13][14]

Music

The lead single from the film's soundtrack, "For You", performed by Rita Ora and Liam Payne, was released on January 5, 2018. The soundtrack's track list was released on January 8, 2018, including artists Julia Michaels, Sia, Jessie J, Black Atlass, Ellie Goulding, Hailee Steinfeld, Dua Lipa, and Miike Snow on the 22-song album.

Release

Fifty Shades Freed was released to theatres on February 9, 2018. The film released had a digital on April 24, 2018, with a Blu-ray Disc, DVD and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release following on May 8, 2018.[15]

Reception

Box office

Fifty Shades Freed grossed $100.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $270.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $371.2 million, against a production budget of $55 million.[2]

In the United States and Canada, Fifty Shades Freed was released alongside Peter Rabbit and The 15:17 to Paris, and was projected to gross $37–40 million from 3,768 theaters in its opening weekend.[16] It made $5.6 million from Thursday night previews, down 2% from the $5.7 million taken in by Fifty Shades Darker the previous year. It ended up making $38.6 million over the weekend, the lowest of the trilogy, but enough to take first place at the box office.[17] The film grossed $10.8 million on Valentine's Day, the third-highest total for when the holiday fell on a weekday, behind The Vow ($11.6 million in 2012) and Darker ($11 million), and bringing its five-day gross to $56.1 million.[18] In its second weekend the film only made $17.3 million, a 55.1% drop.[19]

Worldwide, the film was expected to make $80–90 million from 57 countries, including France, Germany, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Japan, for a worldwide debut of $113–130 million in its first three days.[20] It ended up grossing $98.1 million from overseas for a global debut of $136.9 million.[21]

Critical response

The film garnered overwhelming negative reviews by critics and audiences alike. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 11%, based on 196 reviews, and an average rating of 3.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fifty Shades Freed brings its titillating trilogy to a clumsy conclusion, making for a film franchise that adds up to a distinctly dissatisfying ménage à trois."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 43 critics, meaning "generally unfavorable reviews."[23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by Darker, while PostTrak reported that 56% of women (who made up 81% of the opening weekend audience) gave the film a "definite recommend".[17]

Writing for Variety, Guy Lodge was critical of the film, saying "Indeed, a sex-free, PG-13 version of Freed could be cut without shedding a second of narrative coherence, such as it is; one could ask what the point of that would be, though similar queries might be leveled at the film as it stands."[24] Rolling Stone's Peter Travers gave the film zero out of four, stating "With this last entry, we have officially hit the bottom of the barrel. Whips, chains, butt plugs and nipple clips are nothing compared to the sheer torture of watching this movie."[25] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film one out of five stars, and wrote "This is a film in which one of the more emotionally detailed performances is given by a product-placement Audi."[26]

Jeannette Catsoulis, writing for The New York Times, found the film to be significantly inferior to Kim Basinger's 9½ Weeks, stating: "Layering a damp-squib thriller subplot beneath what appears to be an ad campaign for the one-percent lifestyle, the returning director and screenwriter test the newly married couple with an inconvenient pregnancy and an unconvincing car chase. There's an out-of-left-field abduction and a marital tiff over email addresses; but these narrative fragments, lazily tossed together alongside a neglected supporting cast, are no more than a flimsy causeway connecting bonking sessions."[27]

Conversely, IndieWire reviewer Manuela Lazic gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Finally, the Fifty Shades phenomenon has yielded a disarming comedy that makes this ridiculous material fun to watch."[28]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Recipients Category Result Ref.
People's Choice Awards November 11, 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Movie of 2018 Nominated [29]
Drama Movie of 2018 Won [29]
Jamie Dornan Drama Movie Star of 2018 Won [29]
Golden Raspberry Awards February 23, 2019 James Foley Worst Director Nominated [30]
Marcia Gay Harden Worst Supporting Actress Nominated [30]
Niall Leonard; based from the novel by E. L. James Worst Screenplay Won [30]

References
  1. "FIFTY SHADES FREED (18)". British Board of Film Classification. January 30, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  2. "Fifty Shades Freed (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  3. Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 26, 2012). "Universal Pictures and Focus Features win Fifty Shades of Grey". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  4. Miller, Julie (July 10, 2012). "Fifty Shades of Grey Film Gets Oscar-Nominated Producers, Christian Grey–Casting Inspiration". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  5. Schumann, Rebecka (February 6, 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey' Sequels Confirmed; Fans React To 'Fifty Shades Darker' And 'Fifty Shades Freed' Movie Announcement". International Business Times. Newsweek. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  6. Dibdin, Emma (February 13, 2015). "Sam Taylor-Johnson on 50 Shades of Grey sequel: 'It's not my decision'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  7. Sneider, Jeff (November 12, 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey' Sequels to Shoot Back to Back, James Foley to Direct Both (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  8. Ford, Rebecca; Kit, Borys (February 8, 2016). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Adds 'Ballers' Actress Arielle Kebbel (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  9. Kroll, Justin (February 12, 2016). "'Fifty Shades Darker' Adds 'The Knick's' Eric Johnson as Christian Grey's Rival (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  10. Evans, Greg (February 20, 2016). "Brant Daugherty Signs On For 'Fifty Shades Freed' Sawyer Role". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  11. Kroll, Justin (November 12, 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey' Sequels to Shoot Back-to-Back". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  12. Richford, Rhonda (February 4, 2016). "'Fifty Shades Darker' to Shoot in Paris as Filming Rebounds After Attacks". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  13. Schumann, Rebecka (January 5, 2016). "'Fifty Shades Darker' Movie 2016 Production Schedule, Location And Possible Smaller Budget Revealed". International Business Times. Newsweek. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  14. Barilla, Lucille (January 6, 2016). "'Fifty Shades Darker' Starts Filming After Delay Getting '50 Shades Of Grey' Sequel To Screens?". Fashion & Style. Newsweek. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  15. Latchem, John (March 6, 2018). "Unrated 'Fifty Shades Freed' Coming to Digital April 24, Disc May 8". Media Play News. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  16. D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 18, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Looks To Lead Pre-Valentine's Day Weekend With Around $40M – B.O. Forecast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  17. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 11, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Builds E.L. James Trilogy To $1 Billion Climax; 'Peter Rabbit' Bounces To $25M Opening". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  18. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 15, 2018). "Fifty Shades Freed' Pops At Valentine's Day B.O. Before 'Black Panther' Attacks – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  19. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 18, 2018). "'Black Panther' Rips Apart Box Office Records: 3-Day Opening Rises To $194M+; 4-Day At $223M+". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  20. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Worldwide Opening Weekend Will Steam Franchise Past $1 Billion – B.O. Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  21. Tartaglione, Nancy (February 11, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Collars $98M Overseas; 'Jumanji' Now Sony's #3 WW Release Ever". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  22. "Fifty Shades Freed (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  23. "Fifty Shades Freed Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  24. Lodge, Guy (February 7, 2018). "Film Review: 'Fifty Shades Freed'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  25. Travers, Peter (February 8, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Review: Welcome to the Most Painful 'Shades' of All". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  26. Collin, Robbie (February 8, 2018). "Fifty Shades Freed review: painful, prissy, and even ropier than the last one". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  27. Catsoulis, Jeannette (February 8, 2018). "Review: Finally, the Audience Is 'Fifty Shades Freed'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  28. Lazic, Manuela (February 8, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Review: Finally, a Sex Comedy From a Franchise That Took Itself Too Seriously". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  29. Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 11, 2018). "People's Choice Awards: 'Avengers: Infinity War', 'Shadowhunters' Among Top Honorees – Full Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  30. "39TH Razzie Awards Announcement!". YouTube: Razzie Channel. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17.
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