Fifty Shades Sales Hit 100 Million Worldwide

It has been translated into 51 languages and now the Fifty Shades Of Grey trilogy has sold 100 million copies worldwide.

The erotic fiction, written by British novelist EL James, has proved such a hit that a big screen adaptation is in the works which will be released on Valentine's Day 2015.

As well as selling 27 million copies in the UK and Commonwealth counties, Arrow Books has also sold one million copies or more in Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, and The Netherlands.

Vintage Books sold more than 45 million copies of the trilogy, dubbed 'mummy porn', in the US in both print and eBook.

One book was sold every one second during peak sales and it is the fastest selling book series in the history of Random House.

When compared to other series, the figures put the erotic classic on similar figures to Ian Fleming's James Bond series, which was first released in 1953.

Stephenie Meyer's famous vampire romance Twilight has sold 120 million copies worldwide.

The series is still a long way off hitting the figures JK Rowling has enjoyed with Harry Potter - which has sold 450 million copies since the first book was written in 1997.

Forbes estimated in June 2013 that James was worth £57m ($95m).

Anne Messitte, publisher of Vintage/Anchor Books in the US said: "We see new readers coming to the books every day and the sales, two years after our initial publication, remain strong and steady."

The movie - being directed by artist and film-maker Sam Taylor-Johnson - was due to be unveiled in August, but was put back until 2015 after being dogged by difficulties with casting.

The production delay was thought to have been partly a result of the abrupt exit of star Charlie Hunnam, who left citing his busy schedule and family commitments.

He has now been replaced by British actor and model Jamie Dornan, who will play male lead Christian Grey.

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