Fifty Shades of Grey (film) James' husband, Niall Leonard, was enlisted to write the script for the film's sequel. In the same month, at the 2015 Universal CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Universal announced the release dates of the sequels, with "Fifty Shades Darker" being released on February 10, 2017, and "Fifty Shades Freed" was released on February 9, 2018. However, the sequels did not see Sam Taylor-Johnson returning as director. On August 20, 2015, the U.S. "House of Cards" director James Foley was a frontrunner to direct the sequel. In November 2015, Universal Studios announced that both films will be shot back-to-back. A spoof version
Fifty Shades Freed (film) night previews, down 2% from the $5.7 million taken in "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. 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. In its second weekend, the film made $17.3 million, dropping 55.1% (a slightly better hold than the previous film) and finishing third,