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 in a period of a few days, and then, for the first time in her life, sat down to write a book: basically a sequel to the "Twilight" novels. Between January and August 2009 she wrote two such books in quick succession. She says she then discovered the phenomenon of fan fiction, and this inspired her to publish her novels as Kindle books under the pen name "Snowqueens Icedragon". Beginning in August 2009 she then began to write the "Fifty Shades" books. James has spoken of her shock at the success of the books. "The explosion of interest has taken