The romantic drama It Ends with Us has been playing in theaters for more than a month and is close to reaching major box office milestones, both domestically and internationally. The film exceeded expectations during its opening weekend last month, becoming a much-needed hit for late summer.
It gave its target audience a perfect alternative after Deadpool & Wolverine dominated theaters. Interestingly, both Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, are Hollywood’s most successful couple of the year.
With $144 million from domestic markets and an additional $180 million from international ones, It Ends with Us has now accumulated a global total of $325 million. Made with a reported budget of $25 million, the movie has turned out to be a huge success for Sony, especially when similar titles often go straight to streaming.
Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, the film launched with a mix of high anticipation, celebrity buzz, and positive fan reactions.
Although the movie has received a modest 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, what truly stands out is its reception by audiences. It Ends with Us holds a remarkable 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, earning the platform’s newly introduced “verified hot” badge.
The film also received an A- CinemaScore from opening-day viewers, showing its lasting appeal at the box office. In her review, Isabella Soares from Collider called the film “an emotional and effective depiction of domestic violence and how to find the strength to overcome it.”
Can ‘It Ends with Us’ Reach $350 Million Worldwide?
While romantic dramas and comedies are now often seen as genres that belong to streaming platforms, female-driven films, especially those based on popular books, used to perform well in theaters before the pandemic. Last weekend, It Ends with Us surpassed the $307 million global total of The Fault in Our Stars.
It had already overtaken the lifetime earnings of similar movies like The Girl on the Train ($173 million), Where the Crawdads Sing ($145 million), and Crazy Rich Asians ($237 million).
Despite its impressive run, It Ends with Us is unlikely to match the box office success of Twilight (over $400 million worldwide) or Fifty Shades of Grey ($570 million worldwide).
The film’s release was originally scheduled for earlier this year, but it was pushed back to follow the release of Deadpool & Wolverine. This gave Lively the chance to promote it alongside Reynolds. Lively faced some criticism for downplaying the movie’s central theme of domestic abuse but later addressed this through an Instagram post.
She was also reportedly involved in disagreements with the film’s director and co-star, Justin Baldoni, during the promotional campaign, which might have actually benefited the movie. You can catch It Ends with Us in theaters now, and stay updated with Otakukart for more news.
