Headlines will today read Blake Lively beats husband Ryan Reynolds at box office.
Lively stars in Justin Baldoni’s “It Ends with Us” based on the lowbrow novel by Colleen Hoover. The film made $24 million on its opening including $7 million from Thursday previews.
Ryan Reynolds — Lively’s hubby — stars in “Deadpool and Wolverine.” It made $15.7 million on Friday night. Shawn Levy directed the Marvel satire of superhero movies.
Of course, “D&W” has already taken in over $450 million, so Friday’s finish is irrelevant. But it’s a good publicity hook for the Baldoni movie.
It’s a better publicity hook than the other story that involves all these people. Apparently, Lively and Baldoni clashed during the making of their film. She asked Reynolds to rewrite scenes, which was a surprise to the “Ends” screenwriter. Baldoni came to the New York premiere, but took no pictures or did any press with his cast. He wasn’t invited to any of the international premieres, where Lively has been front and center.
Baldoni also told an interviewer that he won’t be directing the inevitable sequel because he said Lively could direct it herself. Backstage, it seems, Baldoni has been eliminated from the equation.
Will “End” continue to stare down Marvel all weekend? Unclear, but ticket sales last night were ferocious. Stay tuned…
