‘It Ends With Us’ - In Defense of Its Controversial but Successful Marketing

The trailers and TV spots were upfront about the subject matter, and -- judging by the leggy post-debut box office, audiences are clearly not feeling remotely blindsided

It Ends with Us has topped the daily box office for the third time, earning $5.5 million following a $7.3 million Tuesday and $6 million Monday gross. That puts its six-day cume at $68.9 million in North America. Presuming it maintained the 63/37 domestic/overseas split it had on Sunday, the $25 million Sony/Wayfarer Studios flick has earned around $110 million globally. By the end of the weekend, it’ll likely be past $100 million domestically and $160 million globally. That will make it bigger than A) Where the Crawdads Sing ($90 million/$141 million in 2022), B) any Blake Lively vehicle (starring or co-starring) save for Green Lantern ($116 million/$226 million in 2011) and C) any Nicolas Sparks adaptation. $141 million domestic would put it past even the inflation-adjusted total of The Notebook. So, yes, the “controversial” marketing worked.