It Ends With Us opened in second after Deadpool & Wolverine at the domestic box office this past weekend with $50 million – a good number next to its budget. According to Deadline, it was outearning D&W at the box office on Monday and Tuesday this week and is projected this weekend to “have a good hold in the -55% to -60% range for around $20M-$21M. Don’t be shocked if it does better.” That’s Deadline’s soft prediction and I buy it.
The controversy surrounding the movie is making people curious and it may actually pay off even more financially – which is why some people think this beef between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is just a publicity stunt. I mean, anything is possible but that’s not my take. It would be pretty f-cked up to fabricate this kind of elaborate feud on a project that deals with domestic violence. And, sure, Hollywood is f-cked up in and of itself but I don’t want to be that cynical about a project that involves so many women.
As for the latest in this mess…
Yesterday I posted about Justin working with a crisis management team and the timing of that news coming out and TMZ’s post about Justin’s supporters suggesting that he “got screwed” which very much read like it was placed by Team Justin. TMZ then followed up with another post about the conflict.
“Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... there was a scene in which Justin lifts Blake into the air. According to our sources, Justin has a history of back problems and before lifting Blake, he went to his on-set trainer and asked how much she weighed and how could he train to protect his back from injury. Blake later found out about Justin's comment and felt he fat-shamed her.”
Most people seem to be attributing the placement of this story to Blake’s side and adding to the pile-on on social media which, as noted, already is overwhelmingly against her. That’s not my takeaway. Those added details about Justin’s bad back and what exercises he would have to do to protect his back during the lift scene? How and why would that come from Team Blake?! Those details are there to explain HIS position, not hers. The information about his back is for HIS benefit, not hers. And remember, he’s the one working with crisis management and now with the timing of these leaks to TMZ, a website that often takes a pro-dude perspective in its gossip coverage… I wouldn’t automatically assume that this is Blake trying to elicit sympathy.
As for the on-set kiss that allegedly went on longer than Blake was comfortable with but that was followed up immediately by multiple outlets reporting on the intimacy coordinators who were part of the production including Page Six and PEOPLE which has been used by the online mob to undermine whatever it is that Blake may have felt during that scene.
And then there was Variety’s exclusive that came out yesterday afternoon about Justin’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, partnering with non-profit agency No More to raise awareness about intimate partner violence and offer support resources. Blake, meanwhile, is considered by many to have done not enough to focus on helping survivors or contributing to a productive conversation about domestic violence.
So, 48 hours after it was made public that Justin is working with a crisis management team that has ties to Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Harvey Weinstein, among others, it would seem that the situation is advancing in their favour even though, well, it’s debatable whether he was ever really in crisis or an underdog to begin with.
