Universal’s “Fifty Shades Freed” dominated social media buzz last week with 185,000 new conversations, thanks to the release of a new trailer on Jan. 2, according to media-measurement firm comScore and its PreAct service.
The trailer included the reveal in the final five seconds that Dakota Johnson’s Anastasia Steele character is pregnant. The pregnancy announcement isn’t news to those who read the final installment of E.L. James’ erotic trilogy, published in 2012, but it had not been hinted at in the two previous films, “Fifty Shades of Grey” and “Fifty Shades Darker.”
The two films, co-starring Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, have combined to gross $950 million worldwide. The final installment in the “Fifty Shades” movie trilogy is due in theaters on Feb. 9 — five days before Valentine’s Day.
Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” generated 60,000 new conversations last week after announcing that Kendrick Lamar would be co-producing the soundtrack, with the first track released on Jan. 5, and confirmed a key TV spot to air during Monday’s NCAAF championship game.
Chadwick Boseman, who debuted the character in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” plays T’Challa, the king of a fictional, technologically advanced African nation. “Black Panther” opens Feb. 16.
Sony’s supernatural horror film “Slender Man” produced 36,000 new conversations last week after the studio released its first trailer on Jan. 3, a day after the first poster was unveiled. The film, directed by Sylvain White and based on the Creepypasta character created by Eric Knudsen, stars Javier Botet, Jaz Sinclair, Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, and Annalise Basso. It will be released by Screen Gems on May 18.
Fox’s “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” generated 33,000 new conversations, three weeks before the Jan. 26 opening of the film — the finale of the “Maze Runner” sci-fi trilogy. The movie’s original release date has been delayed for nearly a year in order to allow star Dylan O’Brien to recover from injuries sustained during shooting.
Fox’s “The Post” produced 30,000 new conversations ahead of its Jan. 12 wide release. The journalism drama pulled in $1.7 million at 36 domestic locations over the weekend, good enough for 15th place on the domestic chart for the film. “The Post,” directed by Steven Spielberg, stars Tom Hanks as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as WaPo publisher Katharine Graham.