Using the #50dollarsnot50shades hashtag, the campaigners ask that people spend their money on women’s shelters rather than a trip to see the Fifty Shades of Grey film adaptation

Campaigners in North America are calling on filmgoers to boycott the new Fifty Shades of Grey movie and instead donate their earnings to organisations that battle domestic violence.

A social media campaign with the hashtag #50dollarsnot50shades argues the $50 (£33) cost of a cinema ticket and snacks would be better used supporting shelters and agencies that support abused women. Advocates specifically label the movie’s female protagonist Anastasia Steele, played by Dakota Johnson in the upcoming adaptation of EL James’s bestselling literary knee-trembler, as a victim of abuse.

“The money you would have spent on movie tickets and a babysitter or movie tickets, popcorn and drinks will go towards serving victims of abusive relationships like the one glamorised in the 50 Shades series,” says the campaign on its Facebook page. “Hollywood doesn’t need your money; abused women do.”

Sam Taylor-Johnson’s film, which stars Jamie Dornan as kinky billionaire Christian Grey, is being released in time for Valentine’s Day on both sides of the Atlantic. The #50dollarsnot50shades campaign, which has 4,600 likes on Facebook at time of writing, is backed by the US National Centre on Sexual Exploitation, Canada’s London Abused Women’s Centre, Stop Porn Culture, Antipornography.org and a number of other similar organisations. Real women “don’t end up like Anastasia; they often end up in a women’s shelter, on the run for years or dead”, a National Centre spokesperson told the Washington Times.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Do you stock cable ties?’ – see a clip from Fifty Shades of Grey

Campaigners say they are thrilled with the response so far and claimed to have been offered funds from supporters living as far apart as Germany and Australia, which they said would be channelled to local support groups and agencies. “People are really upset about this movie and its potential for glamorising stalking and abusive behaviour, so they’re happy to have the chance to do something positive to help offset the damage,” said the organisers.

Taylor-Johnson told the Guardian in an interview last week that she wanted to portray the central relationship in a balanced way. “I thought, if we can take this girl on a journey, where we empower her and don’t leave her as a victim, that’s job done,” she said. “We start with Anastasia coming into his world and grappling with it – so she’s an autonomous person.” She researched BDSM culture for the film: “BDSM is a boundaried sexual environment. It’s not like you’re with someone and you go to have sex with them and you don’t know what they’re into, or what’s going to happen. There are rules... Yes, the film is hardcore in places, there’s dominance in places – but at no point did I feel like it had crossed a boundary.”

Fifty Shades of Grey is expected to be one of 2015’s biggest movies, with observers predicting a US opening in excess of $60m. James’s trilogy of novels have sold more than 100m copies worldwide and been translated into more than 50 languages.

Sam Taylor-Johnson on Fifty Shades Of Grey: ‘A feminist doesn’t have to be on top’ Read more

Early expectations fired by footage screened for critics and cinema owners in March last year had been for the big screen version to veer closer to “moon-eyed” romance than hardcore BDSM content. But recent reports have suggested the final cut features sex scenes running for around 20 minutes, one sixth of its total running time, which would make it the most salacious mainstream movie of recent times.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) handed the film an 18 certificate earlier this week, citing “strong sex and nudity, along with the portrayal of erotic role play based on domination, submission and sado-masochistic practices”. However, in the US the movie has been rated “R”, escaping the more restrictive NC-17 rating.

New reports suggest the film has been banned outright in Malaysia, where it had been due to open on 12 February. Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid of the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF) told Variety that Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation was “more pornography than a movie”, adding: “The board made a decision in view of the film containing scenes that are not of natural sexual content. The content is more sadistic, featuring scenes of a woman being tied to a bed and whipped.”