As ‘It Ends With Us’ Box Office Soars and Drama Rages, What’s Happening With the ‘It Starts With Us’ Sequel? | Exclusive

As “It Ends With Us” continues to do well at the box office, fans of Colleen Hoover’s novel are eager to see the story continue with a sequel adaptation of Hoover’s “It Starts With Us.” But given the drama surrounding the film’s co-stars and press tour, how difficult will it be to get the sequel off the ground?

Buoyed by strong word of mouth, “It Ends With Us” crossed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office on Monday, surpassing $180 million worldwide on a $25 million budget. It surpassed Paramount’s “IF” as the year’s highest-grossing non-sequel film and will surpass the box office total of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” another Sony release in 2024, in the coming days.

But the attention paid to the “It Ends With Us” press tour seemed to rival that of 2022’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” as fans noticed that star/co-writer/director Justin Baldoni and star/producer Blake Lively kept their distance. The two did not conduct any interviews together and were not photographed together at the film’s red carpet premiere. The actors even avoided speaking directly about Baldoni.

The two actors reportedly had a falling out over their preferred version of the film during post-production, with Hoover siding with Lively. Co-star Brandon Sklenar publicly acknowledged the discord in an Instagram post Tuesday, saying, “What may or may not have happened behind the scenes should not, and I hope will not, detract from our intentions in making this film.”

So where do things stand with the “It Starts With Us” sequel now that the first film is a bona fide success?

According to two sources familiar with the project, Wayfarer Studios, which Baldoni co-founded and optioned Hoover’s first novel in 2019, also has the option on the film rights to “It Starts With Us,” meaning Baldoni would be involved in some capacity. But another source told TheWrap that Sony Pictures — which distributed “It Ends With Us” — has the rights to distribute the sequel.

The first insider warned that “no further conversations have taken place at this stage regarding what happens next.”

“It Ends With Us” follows the complicated story of Lily Bloom (Lively) and Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), who begin a romantic relationship but find themselves in an abusive relationship. Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), resurfaces in her life, upending her relationship with Ryle.

Hoover’s sequel, “It Starts With Us,” takes place immediately after the end of the first novel and focuses on Lily and Atlas’ relationship, but Baldoni’s character Ryle remains part of the story. Hoover said he wrote “It Starts With Us” as a “thank you” to fans of the first novel.

Baldoni was asked about the sequel during the press tour and seemed to hint at Lively’s hands-on approach in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. When asked if he would return to direct the sequel, he said, “I think there are better people for this movie. I think Blake Lively is ready to direct, that’s what I think.”

Lively has faced criticism on social media over the film’s marketing campaign, which presents the domestic violence survival story as a romantic drama.

One of the film’s promotional videos that has been heavily criticized is a TikTok on the film’s official page in which Lively says, “Gather your friends, wear your flowers, and go see it.” Critics said the comment seemed insensitive and inappropriate given that the film is about domestic violence, and a viral TikTok video trend has sprung up targeting Lively for failing to warn viewers of the true nature of the film.

In her Instagram post on Tuesday, Sklenar came to Lively’s defense. “Colleen [Hoover] “The women in this cast represent hope, perseverance and choosing a better life for women,” he said. “To denigrate the women who put so much heart and soul into making this film because they believe so much in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from the point of the film. It’s actually the opposite of what it’s about.”

Jeremy Fuster contributed to this report.