Universal’s “Fifty Shades Darker,” starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, topped social media buzz last week with an impressive 107,000 new conversations, according to media-measurement firm comScore and its PreAct service.
The studio released a new extended trailer on Jan. 2 during the airing of “The Bachelor” premiere. “Every fairy tale has a dark side,” the trailer’s tagline warns.
PreAct estimates that a total of 947,000 new conversations have been generated for the sequel, which opens on Feb. 10.
The sequel depicts an escalating romance between the characters played by Johnson (Anastasia Steele) and Dornan (Christian Grey) with plenty of steamy scenes and shadowy figures from Christian’s past emerging. “Fifty Shades Darker” is directed by James Foley and once again produced by Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, and Marcus Viscidi, alongside author E. L. James.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” generated more than 21,000 new conversations last week in the wake of Sony releasing a promo video detailing the Spider-Man suit. Sony’s sixth Spider-Man movie — which has more than 1 million new social media conversations — opens July 7 with Tom Holland in the lead role as high-schooler Peter Parker.
Universal’s horror thriller “Split” saw nearly 19,000 new conversations last week. The film, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, stars James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Betty Buckley with a Jan. 20 opening.
Disney’s “Cars 3” generated more than 11,000 new conversations last week. The studio released official images on Jan. 5 and announced the cast additions of Armie Hammer and Cristela Alonzo, as well as a trailer announcement video on Jan. 2.
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Emma Watson, generated over 10,000 new conversations as it aired a new TV spot during the Golden Globes on Jan. 8 and posted a poster on Instagram.
The first trailer, released Nov. 14, generated more than 127 million views in its first 24 hours online. Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, and Josh Gad also star with Bill Condon directing. “Beauty” opens March 17.