The Real It Ends With Us Budget Soars Past Early Reports

If you thought 'It Ends With Us' was made on a modest budget, buckle up—turns out, the numbers everyone was tossing around weren’t just off, they were hilariously low. All of this came out because of a lawsuit (more on that soap opera in a second), so we finally have some real insider numbers on what it took to bring Colleen Hoover’s bestseller to the screen.

The Real Price Tag: Not Even Close to $25 Million

For months, pretty much every outlet had the movie pegged at $25 million. But thanks to new court filings (uncovered by Variety), we now know the actual cost was "closer to $55 million". That’s more than double the PR-friendly figure everyone was repeating. What blew the budget? A perfect storm: extra rounds of reshoots, pandemic headaches, and those 2023 Hollywood union strikes that shut the whole industry down for weeks.

Big Hit… But Don’t Expect a Sequel

Here’s the wild part: even with the monster budget, 'It Ends With Us' was a box office smash—raking in over $350 million worldwide. In any other universe, those numbers would mean a sequel is basically guaranteed. But thanks to a not-so-friendly split between director/star Justin Baldoni and leading lady Blake Lively (the lawsuit I mentioned earlier), that dream is pretty much dead. Baldoni actually owns the rights to make a sequel because of his original deal with Hoover, but with things this tense, don’t hold your breath.

What’s This Movie About Again?

If you skipped the book, here's the gist: Lily Bloom (played by Lively) is working to escape a mess of a childhood and start fresh in Boston. She crosses paths with Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni himself), a suave neurosurgeon. Sounds great, right? But things take a turn as their relationship deepens—Ryle shows some distinctly troubling sides that echo Lily’s past trauma. Then Atlas Corrigan, Lily’s first love, shows up out of the blue and basically blows her life up all over again. So, yes, melodrama dialed up to eleven.

So Who’s Actually in This Thing?

• Director: Justin Baldoni (also stars as Ryle)
• Lily Bloom: Blake Lively
• Atlas Corrigan: Brandon Sklenar
• Alyssa: Jenny Slate
• Marshall: Hasan Minhaj
• Also appearing: Amy Morton
• Screenplay: Christy Hall
• Executive Producers: Baldoni, Lively, Colleen Hoover, Steve Sarowitz, Andrew Calof, Andrea Ajemian
• Producers: Alex Saks, Jamey Heath, Christy Hall

Don’t Miss This Extra Bit

Someone involved (the synopsis writers, presumably) described the story as:

'A compelling story of Lily Bloom, who overcomes a traumatic childhood and builds a new life in Boston. A whirlwind romance with a charming neurosurgeon starts promisingly but soon takes a dark turn. When her first love comes back into her life, Lily faces impossible choices about her future.'

Pretty much sums up the plot—and the drama behind the scenes, honestly.