Whether Fifty Shades of Grey‘s Valentine’s Day release drew you to theaters or sent you running from them, expect it to become an almost-annual tradition.
The film’s sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, now have release dates set for Feb. 19, 2017, and Feb. 9, 2018, respectively. Variety reports Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley said Thursday at CinemaCon: “We’re making this a Valentine’s Day event.”
That doesn’t come as a huge surprise given the first movie’s record-breaking February opening. Universal has yet to announce a replacement for director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who won’t be returning to the series, but Niall Leonard—the husband of Fifty Shades author E.L. James—will be writing the screenplay.
[Variety]
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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com