Colleen Hoover’s controversial best-selling book, It Ends With Us, is still getting that much-awaited movie adaptation, and its arrival is imminent. The 2016 book has become one of the biggest books on BookTok but has received criticism for (intentionally or not) glorifying domestic abuse by being marketed as a romance novel. Despite the book’s and Hoover’s own history of controversy, It Ends With Us continues to sell millions of copies and was even the best-selling book of 2022 and 2023.
When a movie adaptation was announced in 2023, fans were elated to finally see the book’s protagonists on the big screen. Blake Lively plays the lead role of Lily Bloom, a woman who quits her traditional marketing job to open her own flower shop (with a name like that, it’s got to be fate), and Justin Baldoni (who is also set to direct) plays Ryle Kincaid, a neurologist with commitment issues. After several months of speculation, the film finally has a confirmed release date.
When does It Ends With Us hit theaters?
The film adaptation of It Ends With Us hits theaters on Aug. 9, 2024. Initial reports set the date as Feb. 9 but the film was repeatedly delayed before landing on the current release date. Due to the WGA Writers’ Strike, production on the film came to a halt in early June of 2023. Coupled with the SAG-AFTRA strike lasting a grand total of 118 days (the longest actors’ strike thus far), the February release date always seemed ambitious for a film that was reportedly only halfway through with shooting before the strike began. The people behind the film seemed to agree as they delayed the film’s release to June 21 before settling on its final release date.
Those moviegoers who haven’t read the book may be in a shock if they’re expecting a feel-good romantic comedy — but we can’t say they haven’t had plenty of time to catch up.
What was the release date of the It Ends With Us book?
Although the book wouldn’t reach peak popularity until 2022, It Ends With Us was first published Aug. 2, 2016. While the book was well-received upon its initial publication, it would reach unprecedented levels of success when it was discovered by TikTok’s book community BookTok in 2021. In January of 2022, It Ends With Us re-debuted at the number one spot of the New York Times Best Sellers list and has continued to stay on the list ever since.
Not everyone is enamored with the book. Critics of It Ends With Us allege the book unintentionally romanticizes domestic abuse. Promotional materials — like a quickly scrapped coloring book based on the events of the novel — have also been criticized for making light of victims of abuse.