Why is the 'Fifty Shades' franchise so popular?

When you look at the statistics, “Fifty Shades Darker” does not seem like the blockbuster film its earnings would indicate it is. A 4.9/10 on IMDB. A whopping 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. A general consensus among critics of “sloppy,” “boring” and “nonsensical.” Never before has such an objectively bad film skyrocketed to the top of the charts, so far doing even better than its predecessor “Fifty Shades of Grey” despite garnering worse reviews. These statistics elicit the question: what has led to the massive consumption of this film? Why is the “Fifty Shades” franchise so popular? It’s a question even I asked myself as I paid $17.69 to enter the movie theater and watch a film I knew would end up disappointing me.

This is, of course, not to say that the movie did not have its saving graces. The soundtrack, which features the likes of ZAYN, Taylor Swift and Sia, among others, is hot and fun to listen to irrespective of the film it is associated with. In addition, on a superficial level, the movie is entertaining. The cast is attractive, and the movie incorporates the best-selling plotlines of sex and danger. In fact, after asking a few people why they went to go see the movie, I came to the conclusion that Jamie Dornan’s attractiveness was the sole contributor to the film’s success.

But there are a lot of attractive people in Hollywood, many of whom have acted in movies that have actually accumulated critical praise. There are a lot of movies with good soundtracks, and there are a lot of movies that incorporate sex and danger in their plotlines. The reason, in my opinion, that “Fifty Shades Darker” has enjoyed so much success has more to do with culture in America and around the world than with its sex appeal.

This movie and its success would not have been possible, first of all, without an amazing advertising team. Almost every week when I opened up Facebook the news tab would feature an update about the production of the movie, from when it was first announced until even now. “Fifty Shades” has become more than just a franchise; it’s become, arguably, a household name. You don’t have to have seen the movie or have read the books to know what “Fifty Shades” is about or what the name implies, a fact that the advertising team monopolized on and a factor that has contributed a great deal to the franchise’s success.

In addition to the advertising, the inherent rebellious quality of watching the movie has a certain draw. Most movies in Hollywood use sex as a selling point, but the difference with “Fifty Shades” is that that’s solely what it’s about. Yes, there’s a plotline in there somewhere, but when someone thinks “Fifty Shades” they generally don’t think “the tumultuous relationship between Christian and Ana” they think “sex.” One could argue that watching the movie is, in a way, taking control of one’s own sexuality–acknowledging that sex can be fun and not something that is intrinsically bad or sinful.

The last element that I think has bearing on the franchise’s success is that it is just so superficially enjoyable. You don’t have to go watch this movie and ponder the greater ills that plague our society or your own existential meaning in this world. You can go watch attractive people do attractive things and then, ultimately, not ever really think deeply about it again. In economics terms, you get maximum benefits without having to pay that high of a cost. Whether or not this has greater significance in relation to the consumer-heavy culture that is emerging across the world is up for debate.