'Fifty Shades' Might Be The Adult 'Harry Potter'

Forget wizards, vampires, and dystopian societies — the latest franchise to take over movie theaters is all about BDSM. According to The Hollywood Reporter, upcoming romantic drama Fifty Shades of Grey is poised to become the number 4 advanced ticket seller, because people want to see it so badly that they'll happily reserve their tickets long before the film hits theaters. The R-rated flick is reportedly pacing to be Fandango's number four advanced seller of all time, and while it's hardly a shocker that the film will sell a boatload of tickets, it's which films it's competing with that are the most surprising. Fifty Shades of Grey could be in the same category as three major franchises — Twilight, The Hunger Games, and, of course, Harry Potter.

Let that settle in for a minute — a tale about a woman who tests out a riding crop for the first time could sell just as many advanced tickets as a story about a boy who saves the world from an evil wizard? That's a thing?

Apparently so — because, as bizarre as it sounds, Fifty Shades of Grey is basically Harry Potter for grown-ups. And while there are maaaany differences, the two franchises have more in common than you think. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

Here's why Fifty Shades of Grey and Harry Potter aren't all that different — even though, you know, they're really, really different.

They both feature an awakening.

Harry's a wizard. Ana's into being someone's sub. Both have a difficulty time explaining it to other people.

They both take place somewhere dreary

Hogwarts is the coolest place in the world, but you're not exactly moving there because of the weather. Seattle, where Fifty Shades of Grey takes place, has a ton of really great coffee and bars and tall buildings, but that rain really can get you down.

Everyone travels in style.

Sure, it's hard to beat Harry Potter's flying broomsticks and cars, but did you know that Christian Grey has a helicopter?

There are secret rooms.

Not sure what would be more shocking to see — the Basilik lurking in the Chamber of Secrets or your new boyfriend's secret fetish room.

Both Christian and Harry are orphans.

Christian definitely got the better end of the stick with his whole "we-all-have-our-own-helicopters" family. Harry spent most of his life in a closet.

They both depict someone's ultimate fantasy.

Of course, if you gave me the choice between flying on a Hippogriff and using Ben Wa balls, I'm so not going to pick the latter. But you know, to each their own.

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