Beiruting News

"Fifty Shades of Grey" sizzled at the weekend box office, setting new records for the highest-grossing Presidents Day holiday opener of all time and ranking among the biggest R-rated debuts in history.

The erotic drama performed like a comicbook movie, albeit one with much naughtier costumes, picking up $81.7 million from 3,646 locations over the three-day period. That easily trumped the holiday's previous record-holder, the 2010 debut of the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," which kicked off with $56.3 million.

"Fifty Shades of Grey" will do more than $90 million over the four-day holiday, in addition to triggering a massive increase in heart palpitations across the moviegoing public. Among the many high-water marks the saucy tale has hit, the film's debut is the second-biggest in February history behind "The Passion of the Christ" and the fourth-biggest R-rated premiere, trailing "The Matrix Reloaded," "The Hangover: Part II" and Mel Gibson's aforementioned crucifixion tale.

"We worked to make this film accessible to the widest audience possible," said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic distribution. "The campaign was carefully crafted to highlight the quality of the production value and to heighten the romantic aspect of the storyline and the interpersonal relationship at its heart."

Warner Bros.' "American Sniper" blasted past another benchmark, crossing $300 million at the domestic box office after adding another $16.4 million over the weekend.