Why It Ends With Us Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

After several production delays, "It Ends With Us" finally made its way into theaters on August 9, 2024, becoming one of the most successful romantic dramas at the summer box office. The movie, an adaptation of the best-selling book of the same name by Colleen Hoover, is brought to life by "Jane the Virgin" actor Justin Baldoni, who directs and stars in the feature as Ryle Kincaid. He's joined by Blake Lively as main character Lily Bloom and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan. The movie's central plot follows the love triangle between Lily, Ryle, and Atlas, while exploring themes of love, jealousy, abuse, family, and hope.

When Ryle and Lily meet, they have an instant connection, which quickly blossoms into a serious relationship. But an unexpected reunion with her first love, Atlas, unearths a forgotten part of Lily's past that's shown through flashbacks. Meanwhile, in the present, Lily must confront the multi-generational cycle of abuse which has plagued the women in her family and threatens her now.

The dark drama shines a spotlight on the reality of intimate partner violence, but at the same time tells the story of enduring love and hope. As Lively told the BBC: "We delivered a story that's emotional and it's fun, but also funny, painful, scary, tragic and it's inspiring and that's what life is, it's every single color." This has given "It Ends with Us" the kind of mass appeal that blew everyone away when its initial box office was tallied.

"It Ends with Us" has enjoyed huge success at the box office, even after its release date was pushed back first from February and then June. The film, which had a budget of $25 million, was expected to recoup that and slightly more, as outlets projected it would make in the range of $25 to $35 million internationally over its opening weekend. However, "It Ends With Us" surpassed all expectations, grossing $50 million domestically in its debut weekend, with that number increasing to $80 million with the addition of the movie's international earnings.

The romantic drama seriously crushed its competition too. The video game adaptation "Borderlands" was released on the same date but flopped in comparison, grossing $8.8 million during its opening weekend – barely half of what was predicted. Meanwhile, "It Ends With Us" has continued to soar. It crossed the $100 million threshold in its first week and had earned more than $204 million as of August 23.

We asked our box office expert, Ryan Scott of /Film, if the release date shuffle affected these numbers, and he agreed that sticking to the June release date could have caused a problem for "It Ends With Us." "It would have put it right in the crosshairs of 'Inside Out 2.' The August release date was far more favorable, in that case," Scott explained.

Without author Colleen Hoover, the box office success of "It Ends With Us" would have been a moot point. She drew on personal experience to write the novel, as the relationship between Lily's mom, Jenny Bloom (Amy Morton), and her father, Andrew Bloom (Kevin McKidd), mirrored Hoover's parents' own real-life relationship. Although a fictional addition, Lily's experience of intimate partner violence at the hands of Ryle also adds another layer to a story which is all too real for many women. Hoover believes that the reason the book became a TikTok sensation and spent 133 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list is because the story is so relatable to so many.

Not only were many readers able to relate to the darker parts of Hoover's book, but many fans also fell in love with the relationship she created between Lily and Atlas and were excited to see that brought to life. Happily for fans, the movie version of "It Ends With Us" remains pretty faithful to the novel, as Hoover was closely involved in adapting it for the big screen. And readers returned that loyalty at the cinema. "That's what drove that opening weekend number to such high heights," agrees Ryan Scott. "There's a built-in fanbase for best-selling books. If Hollywood does right by fans of the book, great things can happen. That's precisely what happened here."

Justin Baldoni may be best known for playing handsome billionaire Rafael Solano in "Jane the Virgin," but he couldn't be further from the character's reformed playboy persona in real life. Since moving on from the satirical telenovela, Baldoni has put all his efforts into producing and directing, leading him to helm "It Ends With Us." The movie is a joint enterprise between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, and Baldoni worked closely with Colleen Hoover for five years to bring it to the big screen.

Baldoni felt very passionate that this was a story that needed to be told. "So often in our industry, we're told we're not curing cancer, we're not saving lives, just making art, just making movies. To that I say, well, I wonder if we're making the right movies then ... And I thought, well, this is one that could actually make a real difference, this could save lives," he explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

The "Heroes" alum has a track record for making meaningful films, having previously directed and produced the biographical drama "Clouds" and the romantic drama "Five Feet Apart," both of which were inspired by true events. Staying true to his word about trying to make a difference through his movies, Baldoni has taken every opportunity on the "It Ends With Us" press tour to raise awareness about domestic violence by working alongside the non-profit No More.

When discussing the reasons why a film did well at the box office, we cannot discount star power, and Blake Lively has it in spades. Her fans have stayed with her as she's transformed from Serena Van Der Woodsen in "Gossip Girl" through all stages of her life, including motherhood, to becoming Lily Bloom now. Lively has said she was determined to do Lily's character justice. "I just fell in love with Lily," Lively explained in a press release (via GMA News Online). "I knew if I took her on, I would make sure she wasn't a delicate flower, but a woman with both feet firmly on the ground."

And while she has definitely earned praise for her performance, it's Lively's name and existing reputation which got viewers into the cinema. "Looking at her other hits like 'A Simple Favor' and 'The Shallows,' it's clear that she brings a tremendous amount of value to the right project," Ryan Scott said. "Lively deserves respect on her name at this point."

Lively has spent years turning her name into a strong personal brand that is synonymous with impassioned movie roles, her impeccable fashion sense, her ever-growing family with Ryan Reynolds, and savvy business moves. All of this has paid off for Lively with "It Ends With Us," which has instantly become one of her biggest box office hits of all time. It will likely have surpassed the $220 million earned by her biggest, "Green Lantern," by the time you finish this article.

While the script for "It Ends with Us" was officially penned by "I Am Not Okay With This" writer Christy Hall, Blake Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds also lent his writing skills to the project. In fact, Lively revealed to E! that Reynolds had a hand in shaping one of the most pivotal scenes from the book.

"The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it," Lively explained. "We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does." Although this news came as a shock to Hall, who found out about the script changes during the premiere, she agreed that Reynolds helped improve the all-important scene where Ryle and Lily first meet and fall for each other.

Hall also praised another moment during one of the more serious scenes between Lily and Atlas, where Lily struggles to come to terms with the fact that she's pregnant with Ryle's baby. According to Hall, she suspects that a surprising script change, which she felt brought some much-needed humor to the scene, may also have been Reynolds' handiwork. Reynolds, who has penned or co-written many of his own projects — including the second and third "Deadpool" movies — is known for his effortless ability to bring humor to a scene. This was certainly the case for the rooftop sequence, as the conversation he wrote about maraschino cherries was a fun, light moment in a emotionally charged scene.

Lily Bloom is clearly the protagonist of "It Ends With Us" — after all, the movie is told from her perspective, and it only reaches its climax when Lily allows herself to see the truth about Ryle's abuse – and Blake Lively has called this a career-defining role, as she felt that she was really able to take authorship of the character. But the actor has also said that the work she did as Lily on screen is only a fraction of her contributions to the movie. In fact, she actually credits her behind-the-scenes involvement as more important to the success of the project than what she did in front of the camera.

"It was so important to me to work off camera. The work I did as a producer was far more all-consuming than anything I did playing Lily. I just did it all. There's nothing I didn't touch on this film," she explained to Variety. Fans of Lively will be able to see how her personality shines through in the film, particularly when it comes to one of her biggest behind-the-scenes projects: styling Lily.

Lively, who is famously known for styling herself in real life, reunited with costume designer Eric Daman, who worked on "Gossip Girl." Together they created a style for Lily that was both feminine, leaning into her identity as a florist, and masculine, to juxtapose her strength and sense of independence. "We did something very, very special and genuine," Daman said of their collaboration to People.

Blake Lively has described "It Ends With Us" as a film that puts viewers through the wringer emotionally. While it does have its fun and light-hearted moments, it is ultimately a close look at intimate partner violence and how this can become a generational cycle. Lily vows to never be in the same position as her mother, Jenny, who endured abuse from her husband. But through no fault of her own, Lily also finds herself in an abusive relationship. Like her mom, she struggles to face the reality of her situation, finding the strength to leave with the help of Atlas and Allysa (Jenny Slate).

It's seems clear this storyline has really resonated with viewers, as the film holds strong at 92% fan approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Director Justin Baldoni has urged every viewer to reflect on the film's themes, even if they have no personal connection to them. But for others, the movie's storyline has actually been life-changing. Baldoni shared one person's story on Instagram, in which they wrote, "Not sure if you will ever see this, but I'm leaving 10 years of absolute hell after seeing 'It Ends With Us,' thank you. It ends with me too."

Many other cast members have spoken about how important this story was for them to tell on a personal level as well. Brandon Sklenar shared that his role in the film also ended up helping a close friend in a similar situation.

Music can have a lot of power and when done right, a soundtrack has the ability to evoke strong emotions in viewers. The soundtrack for "It Ends With Us" does this well: The movie starts and finishes strong as it opens with Ethel Cain's "Strangers" and closes to Cain's "Everytime," while also notably featuring "My Tears Ricochet" by Taylor Swift.

The soundtrack also supports a moment of levity in the aforementioned scene between Lily and Atlas, where she struggles to come to terms with her pregnancy. The pair talk about the songs they'd want at their funeral. Atlas says "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed, which then plays in the background. 

Blake Lively had a hand in curating the soundtrack for "It Ends With Us," and revealed that she fought for Lana Del Rey's "Cherry" to be used to mark the turning point in Lily's relationship with Ryle. While no physical abuse has been depicted yet at that point, the song heavily foreshadows what's to come. Despite objections from other unnamed producers who claimed the song was "too charged and heavy" for that moment, Lively felt it was perfect. "The moment Atlas enters, things are charged and heavy. Like there's conflict, there's pain, there's turmoil, there's tension," she told Hits Radio UK.

The release of "It Ends With Us" came hot on the heels of "Deadpool and Wolverine," which opened on July 26. Instead of having the movies fight against each other or marketed to different audiences, Hollywood it-couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds acknowledged the fans who would want to see both movies by cross-promoting them. Though not on the same level, the pair recreated their own "Barbenheimer" moment by promoting both films on Instagram to their combined follower count of almost 100 million.

Ryan Scott agreed that Reynolds' involvement has been a factor in the movie's box office success. "Ryan Reynolds is a downright marketing genius outside of being an A-list movie star. Being able to utilize him in any way to help market any movie is a benefit, and that certainly helped 'It Ends With Us' on some level. Reynolds popped up for press junket gags and whatnot, bringing a certain level of attention to that film," he explained.

"It Ends With Us" has definitely built off the momentum of "Deadpool and Wolverine," with Hugh Jackman joining Reynolds and Lively at the premiere. This level of support from Reynolds and Jackman helped build buzz for the romantic drama. Of course, "It Ends With Us" hasn't seen the same level of financial success as Deadpool — who officially confirmed he's better than Jesus Christ, at least at the box office – but it has still been able to hold its own. Lively's feature even grossed more than her hubby's on its Friday opening.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' joint efforts were only a part of the marketing strategy for "It Ends With Us." Promos for the movie featuring interviews from the cast also rolled out across social media platforms, especially TikTok. And, although it has been subjected to some backlash, Lively's self-made tagline for the film — "Grab your friends and wear your florals" — definitely helped create a buzz. 

The platform has been especially successful at drawing in the under-35 female demographic, who made up 68% of viewers. This demographic fueled sales during the opening weekend, and with Sony reporting (per Variety) that "nearly half of opening weekend crowds were comprised of infrequent moviegoers" whose interest was piqued by social marketing campaigns.

The fact that a large percentage of "It Ends With Us" viewers are women who don't go to the movies regularly highlights that Sony has once again taken advantage of the appetite young women have to see romantic dramas on the big screen. The December 2023 release of Sony's "Anyone But You" also blew everyone away at the box office. While the tone of "It Ends With Us" is wildly different from Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell's rom-com, both movies have been able to fill a gap in the market. The success of these movies proves there's a big appetite for the kind of movies that more often than not go straight to streaming services — it's just a matter of marketing them correctly.

The drama surrounding "It Ends With Us" has been pretty hard to miss. Ahead of the film's release, it became apparent that Justin Baldoni was doing press interviews for the movie separate from the rest of the cast, sparking rumors of a rift between them. Lively also faced criticism for not speaking as openly about domestic violence during her interviews as Baldoni did in his. Rumors then swirled that Baldoni made Lively uncomfortable during a kiss on set, and they allegedly clashed over production issues behind the scenes. But all this drama has given "It Ends With Us" a continuous stream of media attention, so in this case, is there no such thing as bad press?

There's something to be said for celebrity drama and people's fascination with it. Just look at 2022's "Don't Worry Darling," which was overshadowed by real-life scandal, although in that case the controversy did not lead to box office success. "In this situation, I think it's fair to say that the alleged behind-the-scenes drama put the movie on people's radar who might not have been in the bag for this one at first," explained Ryan Scott about "It Ends with Us." "Coupled with the positive word-of-mouth indicators, including the great CinemaScore, and Rotten Tomatoes audience score, this drama certainly ensured a lot more ink was spilled on this film's behalf."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.