'Fifty' fever; Date night or moms night off: Moviegoers plan for 'Shades of Grey'.

• Author: Italie, Leanne
• Position: Living

Byline: Leanne Italie

NEW YORK -- Brittany Brown wouldn't miss the opening of the "Fifty Shades of Grey'' movie for anything. She has read and re-read all three books, uses the app, follows FSOG role play on Twitter and set her DVR to record trailers for the highly anticipated Valentine's weekend release.

But ditching her boyfriend for her gal gang of superfans was problematic.

"Feb. 14 is actually his birthday. He'll go out with his guy friends and I'll see FSOG with my friends. Later that evening we'll all meet up to party. We'll celebrate Valentine's Day on Sunday as a couple,'' said Brown, a 22-year-old public relations intern in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Three years in the waiting, the opening of the erotic romance on sweethearts' weekend will be a breathless affair for "Fifty'' die-hards everywhere.

Some will have husbands in tow. Some already have tickets. And those book groups of mommies who helped propel the bondage story to more than 100 million copies sold? They'll be crowding theaters, too.

Lyss Stern in New York will be one of them with 50 friends, including some very expectant ones.

"Hopefully nobody will go into labor,'' she laughed.

Stern, 40, throws mom-centric social events for a living and once feted "Fifty'' writer EL James at the height of mania over the books. Come Feb. 13, Stern will be handing out treats to her buddies when they take their seats in a Manhattan theater. She'll include special sweets and other, er, stuff.

"There will be some fun toys, of course,'' she promised. "It's the most buzzed-about film in the mommy world in a long time. It's a 'Sex and the City' kind of excitement. We know it's not going to win an Oscar, but we also know it's going to be fun.''

In North Hampton, New Hampshire, you can count Lou Altman wholeheartedly, completely voluntarily, in.

"My wife and I have been planning this date since the movie was announced,'' said the 50-year-old head of a satellite communications company. "Any half-smart husband will go see this movie with his wife. There WILL be a payoff.''

The ticket-buying site Fandango said pre-sales have propelled "Fifty Shades'' into the 15-year-old company's all-time Top 5 for R-rated selections. Several hundred screenings have already sold out. Some are in unanticipated hot spots, including Tupelo, Mississippi, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Locally, theaters report that tickets are available.

Jenna Mulford, manager of a two-screen independent cinema in Iowa Falls, Iowa, will...