- Despite the drama, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are cashing in at the box office.
- Their new movie, “It Ends With Us,” has raked in $180 million globally on a $25 million budget.
- A reported feud between the two costars has driven the internet wild over the last few weeks.
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A suspected rift between “It Ends With Us” costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has consumed the internet recently, ultimately spiraling into a pile-on against Lively herself.
But despite all of the drama, the movie has become an irrefutable — and surprising — hit.
“It Ends With Us” has surpassed $180 million at the box office globally in less than two weeks, Variety reports, after being financed for just $25 million.
“It Ends With Us” — an adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel about domestic violence and directed by Baldoni — landed at the box office between two massive franchises: “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Alien: Romulus.”
Yet the romantic drama has carved out a sizable niche between the giant tentpole IPs of the summer, even with middling reviews from critics.
Fans first noted Lively and Baldoni weren’t appearing together during the “It Ends With Us” press tour, with rumblings about dissent on the set and during postproduction. Baldoni has reportedly enlisted a crisis PR firm to contend with the fallout.
Lively then became ensnared in controversy of her own, with some criticizing her lighthearted promotion of a movie about domestic abuse.
An interview from 2016 in which Lively appeared to be hostile toward a reporter also resurfaced, resulting in further criticism for the beleaguered star.
Neither Lively nor Baldoni has publicly commented on the speculation or the internet backlash, but the film’s success appears to be rising above the noise.