Fifty Shades (film series) the second, "Fifty Shades Darker", was released on February 10, 2017. "Fifty Shades Freed", the third film, was released on February 9, 2018. Worldwide, the series has grossed over $1.320 billion, making it the fourth highest-grossing R-rated franchise of all-time. Two years after the trilogy's first novel was released, several distribution companies had bid for the rights of the trilogy. Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount and Universal, as well as Mark Wahlberg's production company, put in bids for the film rights. The winning bid went to Universal Studios and Focus Features, at $5 million. With James gaining control over the process
E. L. James University of Kent in South East England where she studied History. After leaving university, James became a studio manager’s assistant at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield. She married Niall Leonard, a screenwriter, in 1987, and they have two teenage sons. As of 2012, they reside in Brentford, west London. James says the idea for the "Fifty Shades" trilogy began as a response to the vampire novel series "Twilight". In late 2008 James saw the movie "Twilight", and then became intensely absorbed with the novels that the movie was based on. She read the novels several times over