Fifty Shades of Grey, the film of a virginal heroine who falls for a bondage-loving billionaire, is breaking records at the cinemas.
“I think lots of babies will be born in November,” quipped a spokeswoman for the Empire cinema in Buġibba.
The erotic film, dubbed by critics as soft porn and as the most “steamily anticipated” movie of the year, has been a hit with Maltese cinema-goers.
“Last weekend, we had so many people that we ran out of snacks at the bar,” the spokeswoman said. “The audiences are varied: we get couples, individuals and groups, with ages varying from 18 to 70.”
Fifty Shades, she said, would match the popularity of Simshar, the Empire’s hit movie last year. “We had 10,000 patrons watching Simshar. I think this will get close to that,” she said.
The movie is based on the book by E. L. James, which three years ago topped bestseller lists around the world, selling 40 million copies, despite the fact that many claimed the writing was poor. In Malta, it toppled previous publishing phenomena like Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code.
Kate Decesare, of Eden Cinemas, said: “Unlike the book, where many felt awkward admitting they were reading it, people aren’t embarrassed to be watching it.
“There is a general curiosity about this much-anticipated film, so many people just want to know what all the fuss is about.”
Last weekend, we had so many people that we ran out of snacks at the bar
She said that in just 10 days it had already outperformed any film in 2014 and 2015, including Maleficent and The Hobbit. “Attendance in the US dropped by 70 per cent in its second week but, here in Malta, it has continued to perform brilliantly,” she said.
At the St Julian’s cinema, audiences are mostly women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, although there were cases of women attending with groups of friends and booking again with their partners.
About 90 per cent of those attending the premiere were women, she said.
A spokesman for the Embassy cinema in Valletta said the film “is very popular” with patrons, with theatres fully booked.
“I’d say 75 per cent of the audiences for this movie are women,” said Chris Borg. He said comments and laughter were commonplace during the screening.
“We even had a group celebrating a hens’ party the other night. They first came here, watched the movie and then went for drinks,” he said.
The movie has even generated interest among women who are not cinema regulars.
“You can tell by people’s behaviour that they rarely go to the cinema and we’re seeing quite a few women in their 50s and 60s falling in that category,” Mr Borg said.
All three cinemas expect the film to have a relatively long run.
Viewers are leaving the theatre with a mixture of opinions. Some write it off as “a bit of fun” while others feel it is degrading to women. One cinema-goer said it was “not an Oscar-winning movie but you can get a couple of bedroom tips”.
A male viewer had no words of praise: “It is essentially anti-feminist. The plot centres on the corruption of a virgin student by her rich control-freak boyfriend.
“Basically, women are being told: be submissive.”
Times of Malta critic Paula Fleri Soler gave the movie, starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, three stars, saying she had expected it to be worse.
Why does she think the film appeals to Maltese cinema-goers?
“I have no idea how sex-starved Maltese cinema-goers are,” she quipped. “The film is what it is but, at least, the characters were interesting.”