How ‘It Ends with Us’ Became Summer’s Counter-Programming Hit
Blake Lively drama is crushing box office, sending powerful message to Hollywood
Studios crave that big summer blockbuster, the kind that papers over previous duds.
Disney took it on the chin – repeatedly – last year, but the Mouse House is having a stellar 2024 thanks to “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Studios also crave that coveted sleeper hit, the film that defies all the odds each summer.
“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” couldn’t make that happen. Nor did “Thelma” or “The Fabulous Four.”
“It Ends with Us,” however, scored a direct hit.
Blake Lively’s adaptation of the popular novel snared a staggering $50 million in its opening weekend. And it’s not slowing down.
The film’s Tuesday haul? More than $7 million, enough to squeak by “Deadpool & Wolverine” for the top spot, according to Box Office Mojo.
How did a mid-sized drama, with no bankable stars (sorry, Ms. Lively) stand up to the summer’s biggest hits?
AwardsDaily.com suggests Swiftie power put the film over the top. The site says Lively’s girl-bond with Taylor Swift gave the film all the marketing momentum it needed.
It’s an unconventional way to boost box office but it’s worth noting considering how films like this have struggled at the box office of late.
That connection didn’t hurt. The fact that many critics dismissed both the source material and the film may have worked in its favor.
Justin Baldoni reacts to critics who say “It Ends With Us” romanticizes domestic violence. pic.twitter.com/JKQwSlYT5H
— E! News (@enews) August 14, 2024
The off-screen drama between Lively and co-star/director Justin Baldoni also proves there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
There’s another factor in play, one that kicked into overdrive last summer.
“It Ends with Us” speaks directly to women in profound ways. The movie’s core friction – Lively’s character is in an abusive relationship, connects with female movie goers.
Said movie goers rarely get stories that speak directly to them. “Barbie” proved a pink and shiny exception, and we all know how that turned out.
“It Ends with Us” won’t be crossing the $1 billion mark at the global box office, but it’s a sign that audiences are willing to shell out big bucks for movies without lycra-clad heroes or toy tie-ins.
The summer movie began with a sense of finality. If “sure-fire” films like “The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” could under-perform, maybe the theatrical model is doomed.
The aforementioned Disney smashes, plus “Despicable Me 4,” “Twisters” and “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” proved otherwise.
Now, “It Ends with Us” gives Hollywood a financial life line to a better tomorrow.
The biggest lesson? Every summer there’s one movie that defies all expectations. Last year, “Sound of Freedom” earned that distinction. “It Ends with Us” is this year’s model.
Why? Man cannot live on big, noisy blockbusters alone. We always want a Plan B. Finding it, of course, is Hollywood’s trickiest challenge.
It would be great if we lived in a world without domestic abuse or violence and my heart goes out to all who suffered abuse by a parent or partner.
It does seem, however, that there is an overabundance of movies (Women talking, The Invisible Man to name a few,)produced by Hollywood that focus on women being abused by men. It’s no wonder marriage rates are down. It seems to get a movie greenlit these days, it has to address abuse of women or minorities. Who wants to see anyone abused? Not me, but it seems viewers with a progressive political slant enjoy seeing these scenes in our entertainment media.
While all abuse is terrible, it is to the point of political propaganda to constantly depict one group as oppressors and another group as victims. It is a rarity these days to see a film with an honorable male protagonist. This is the elephant in the room that nobody in the industry wants to talk about; the way they depict the majority of males as being incompetent, unintelligent, abusive, childish, racists, etc. Just like it was wrong in the past to depict women as dumb, nagging and overemotional, it is wrong to do the opposite today.
I’ll add onto that somewhat: Women have successfully defined everything as ‘abuse.’ Remember the story about Jonah Hill basically saying that he was looking for a partner who wasn’t going to live a wild/party lifestyle? He was called an abuser by a number of women. The word ‘narcissist’ is thrown around way too much these days and when you hear what reason a woman is giving for using that word, it often boils down to “he had needs in this relationship the same way that I did.” Or how about a story from Fox News that was linked on this very site in which Elle King referred to her father Rob Schneider as “toxic.” One reason she gave was “If I spent a summer with him, it was usually on a movie set.” When you read the rest of her reasoning, he sounded like a pretty good and responsible father to her, but he exhibited some tough love along the way and that was deemed “toxic.” This leads to another, very uncomfortable truth: Women romanticize being victimized. When I was a kid in the 90’s, it became a running joke that the Lifetime channel was “Television for Women,” yet every piece of programming on it was about a woman being beaten or sexually assaulted. I have the same level of sympathy that you described for anyone who has been genuinely victimized, but unfortunately, you can’t keep crying wolf and expect people to believe you when the wolf shows up.
Twisters isn’t exactly a smash. It cost $155 million and needs between $310 and $465 million to break even. Worldwide it is $315 million. Not a bomb or flop, but hardly spectacular
As a famous writer once advised folks who wanted to write:
It all starts with— tell me a story.
The world you’re creating may be fascinating to you, you may be wedded to some ideology or doctrine you think is important — but you have to tell me a story or none of that matters.
A movie about women in an abusive relationship! Just READ the NEWS each morning and you’ll get PLENTY of abused women storylines! One thing women should take from the movie is the right to live NOT IN FEAR! I’ve read many articles where women are abused and then decline to prosecute or refuse to cooperate. There’s no excuse for ANYONE to abuse ANYONE else – period! But, read the lyrics of (c)rap and prepare to be amazed! The degradation of women by the (c)rappers and DEMOcrat support for MEN BEATING WOMEN as an OLYMPIC SPORT should be condemned by ALL!
The Fall Guy and the Mad female saga were far from guaranteed smash hits. In fact they were both terrible ideas.
on paper both looked like solid summer blockbusters and both were well reviewed (not by me, though!). When both flopped it caused a panic. I agree that the Furiosa pitch was borderline ‘terrible, though!