50 shades of green: How studio roped men into seeing 'Grey'

Los Angeles - When Universal bumped Fifty Shades of Grey from August 2014 to Valentine's Day, 2015, it seemed like a cheesy gimmick. Now that box office results are in, it's clear that was the most brilliant stroke of all.

The adaptation of author EL James' erotic novel debuted to an astounding $94.4m domestic and $172m international across the long President's Day weekend, breaking box office records for the month of February, female filmmakers and R-rated movies in what is proving to be a perfect storm of intrigue, brand, and crafty execution by Universal Pictures.