It Ends With Us was a marketing fail--but a box office win

The movie It Ends With Us has sparked countless emotions all around the globe.

Based on an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's infamous novel, this film was highly anticipated by millions. The surrounding controversy, however, began months before its release.

If you don’t know much about Colleen Hoover and her novel, let me fill you in.

It Ends With Us was published in 2016, but gained immense popularity in 2021 due to #booktok. Her books often explore romance and friendship and target teens and young adults.

But It Ends With Us is a little different.

This book follows the story of Lily Bloom, who is navigating a toxic relationship with her partner, Ryle, while also dealing with trauma from her late abusive father. While it is a story about love, and definitely has romance, it is not a love story.

So, why was it advertised as one?

And how was it still a success at the box office, despite this false advertising?

The lead actress, Blake Lively, known for her role in Gossip Girl, took on the character of Lily Bloom. And Lively's fans, who love her for her advocacy for women, were ecstatic about her casting.

Yes, some argued that she was a tad too old for the character, but no one could contest that she was the perfect Lily Bloom.

But her press tour suggested otherwise.

Instead of the adored Blake Lively, fans got the real-life version of Gossip Girl.

In her press tours, Lively seemed to be promoting an image that did not resonate with the genre and themes of the film.

Instead of addressing sexual assault, she talked about this movie as one for a girls' night out. A chick flick, even.

She told her audience to 'grab their friends and wear florals,' whilst heading out to watch this movie. And this romantic theme was reflected in the floral outfits she wore throughout the tour and at the premiere.

The point of the flowery dresses was to show that Lily Bloom was a florist. But, intentionally or not, this seemed to make light of the movie's themes. Needless to say, it did not resonate with fans of the book. And it did not impress Lively's co-star, either.

Now, you’re probably thinking that this sounds bad—and it does. Well, luckily, the lead actress wasn’t the only one getting press.

Because it was Lively's co-star, Justin Baldoni, who was this movie's saving grace.

Justin Baldoni was both the director and the lead actor in It Ends With Us. Oddly, Baldoni and Lively were never seen together on the press tour, which only fuelled the fire (against her).

While she spoke about florals and made jokes in response to fans' questions about abuse, Baldoni took the exact opposite approach. He spent his interviews talking about the importance of identifying domestic abuse.

He also promoted No More, a non-profit that brings awareness to DA, that also worked with him on the film. Through his promotion, the film got tons of positive press.

Meanwhile, the press accused Lively of trying to recreate another Barbenheimer, with the release of Deadpool, starring her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

And if you’re wondering how these very mixed messages affected the film's success, well…

It Ends With Us crossed $100 million at the global box office in the first week.

Lively's controversial promotional tactics just meant even more people heard about the film. People who hadn't read the book wanted to know what the thousands of Tiktoks around her promo tours were about.

The public went from loving Lively, to hating Lively, to talking about her constantly — which made It Ends With Us a huge success.

As for the marketing; Blake Lively isn’t necessarily a bad person for her promotional material (slightly tone-deaf, perhaps).

She is, however, a good marketer. It's no crime to understand that heavy themes will get less interest than a rom-com with two attractive leads.

But, morally? Making topics like domestic violence look light-hearted is questionable, at best.

Lively’s personal brand definitely suffered the consequences, but, as the old adage goes …

No press is bad press, right?

-Kaavya, Intern