Fifty Shades Freed fans sob in cinemas: 'I'm choked up'

A scene from Fifty Shades Freed, the final film in the Fifty Shades series.

It's already had a drubbing from critics but enthusiastic fans of the Fifty Shades franchise have been left bereft at the end of their much-loved trilogy, with many breaking down in the cinema.

Devoted viewers took to Twitter to admit they were in tears at watching the final installment of the tortured love story of Ana and Christian Grey in which the couple formalise their erotic union by tying the knot, reports The Daily Mail.

One viewer said she was in tears watching the film, while others admitted they were devastated that the films were finished.

Another said Rita Ora's performance as Christian's sister had made her well up, while a devoted fan of the series even admitted she would be feeling 'emotional for weeks' after watching the final installment.

And a confused viewer said they felt like they were supposed to feel turned on by watching it, but instead they found themselves sobbing.

I sat in the movie theater for 20 minutes after Fifty Shades ended crying bc I don’t want it to be over... how’s your night?

— Lindsay Harris (@LindsaaayHarris) February 11, 2018

Fifty shades was so good why am I crying in the club rn pic.twitter.com/c7uKtI1eaP

— tony stank ‎⎊ (@meaganboggess) February 11, 2018

fifty shades freed had me crying half of the movie. sad it’s the last movie to the trilogy :(

— abs (@aabbyleighh) February 10, 2018

fifty shades had me crying, horny, and wanting a mf baby 😭😭😭😭

— marissabel (@queeeenmari) February 11, 2018

Another heartbroken fan admitted they couldn't believe it was all over and said it was their favourite of all the films so far.

Although author E. L. James has followed up the first two books with Grey and Darker, which tell the same story from Christian's point of view, and is working on the final installment, there are no plans for another film.

This will no doubt delight critics who slammed it despite desperate attempts by studio executives to stop them from attending screenings.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Closing the book on what's arguably one of the worst film franchises in recent memory, Fifty Shades Freed doesn't quite end with the bang one would hope for."

The magazine's critic Jordan Mintzer also called its stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Fanning 'one of the duller couples to ever grace the screen'.

The Herald Sun in Australia added: "The whole experience has been like a bad Tinder date that lasted three years."

Filmink in Australia added: "It's marginally better than its predecessor in much the same way that being shot through the head is better than being guillotined."

One critic laughed that the film's most emotional performance came from a "product-placement Audi".

On film ratings website Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored just 6 out of 100, making it among the worst-ranking films of the year so far.

But it topped the box office over the weekend, taking the top spot on the charts in North American theatres.

Universal Pictures estimated that the final chapter in the Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele saga earned US$38.8 million over the weekend — down significantly from the first film's US$85.2 million debut and even the sequel's US$46.6 million opening, but enough to bump the three-film franchise over US$1 billion globally. Women once again made up the vast majority (75 per cent) of the opening weekend audience.

"We are exhilarated with the results," said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

"To have a trilogy engineered primarily for a female audience that we were then able to broaden out into a billion-dollar franchise is just a fantastic result."

- Daily Mail with AP