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Talk about a great couple’s present.
Movie stars and husband and wife duo Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are celebrating more than their relationship after this weekend at the box office. The actors each have a major movie at local multiplexes: Marvel blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine” for Reynolds and Colleen Hoover book adaptation “It Ends With Us” for Lively. And it was a banner weekend for both films, with “Deadpool” netting $54 million domestically and “Us” coming in just behind with $50 million.
Besides evidence that both movies are hits, these totals also make Lively and Reynolds the first married couple since Bruce Willis and Demi Moore 34 years ago to go one and two at the box office. Back in 1990 Willis’ “Die Hard 2” and Moore’s “Ghost” were also in first and second one weekend in the box office race. Moore would win the overall competition, however, with tear-jerker “Ghost” grossing more domestically than any other film that whole year (plus nabbing some Oscar nominations and wins).
So far superhero crossover “Deadpool” has made $494.3 million at U.S. theaters since its July 26 release, making it one of the biggest movies of the post-pandemic era. “It Ends With Us,” a mid-budget film about ending the cycle of domestic violence, outperformed expectations with its $50 million in one weekend, a huge win for Lively, also a producer on the film.
The promotional tour for “It Ends With Us” has not been without controversy, however. Online sleuths have pointed to awkward moments as the cast and director and star Justin Baldoni (“Jane the Virgin”) promoted the movie that might point to on-set tension. There were no photos of the full cast at the film’s premiere, and Baldoni has been doing press for the film solo. Lively said that husband Reynolds actually scripted one of the movie’s pivotal scenes, which was news to screenwriter Christy Hall. Fans have also criticized the lighthearted marketing for the movie, which can make it look like a romantic comedy, when the subject matter is so serious.
Lively and Reynolds first starred together onscreen in 2011 box office bomb “Green Lantern,” but 2024 has been much kinder to them. They both appeared in kids’ film “IF” earlier this year, and Lively made a cameo in “Deadpool” as Reynolds’ character’s female counterpart, Ladypool.
