<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> Total (3 films): $1.312 billion </Td> </Tr> <P> Fifty Shades is an American film series that consists of three erotic romantic drama films, based on the Fifty Shades trilogy by English author E.L. James . It is distributed by Universal Studios and stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as the lead roles Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively . Sam Taylor - Johnson directed the first film and initially she was slated to be the director of the sequels as well, however subsequently the second and third films were directed by James Foley . </P> <P> The first film, Fifty Shades of Grey, was released on February 13, 2015, while 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 $1.221 billion, making it the fourth highest - grossing R - rated franchise of all - time . </P> <P> 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 of the making of the film, she hand - picked Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca as the producers . </P>

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