Crowds flocked to Braintree’s Cineworld to see the hotly-anticipated steamy film Fifty Shades of Grey in its opening weekend.

Since the release of the raunchy romance on Friday, the cinema chain has sold thousands of tickets and screened 14 showings a day to cater for the film’s popularity.

Competitions were also run to win free Fifty Shades merchandise, such as soundtracks, posters and mugs.

A spokesman for Braintree Cineworld said: “We had thousands of customers in over the weekend just to see Fifty Shades of Grey and I would hazard a guess that 97 to 98 per cent of them were women.

“The staff got involved and dressed in white shirts and grey ties.

“They decorated the foyer and entrance to Screen One with grey and silver balloons.

“It all came together nicely and really made it an experience for the customers, and judging by the compliments received, the effort was well received by all of our guests.”

See this week's Braintree and Witham Times for the full story.