A unsigned draft of Blake Lively’s contract for It Ends With Us revealed the actress was to be paid a salary of over $1.7 million for her role and a hefty amount in bonuses, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
On Thursday, October 9, Justin Baldoni, 41, and his team unsealed court documents they filed in their never-ending battle with Lively, 38, over the 2024 film.
The director submitted a draft of the actress’ contract for It Ends With Us, the movie which Lively accused costar and director Baldoni of sexually harassing her while shooting. Baldoni adamantly denies the claims.
Per the deal, production started on May 10, 2023, and continued for seven weeks. The majority of the film was shot in New Jersey.
The copy of the contract, dated May 5, 2023, was not signed by Lively. The former Gossip Girl star was to be paid $1.75 million in “fixed compensation” to star as Lily Bloom in the film adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel.
However, Lively and her team worked out a deal where she would be paid 10% of the film’s gross proceeds. On top of that, she was to be paid millions based on the movie’s box office performance and whether it was nominated for awards.
The bonuses included Lively being paid $250,000 once the gross theatrical receipts reached an amount equal to three times the “direct cost” of the film. She would receive another $250,000 if it reached another milestone, another $250,000 if the film made even more and another $250,000 if the film made five times the direct cost of the film.
Lively was to be paid $100,000 if she was nominated for an Academy Award and $200,000 for a win. If she won, she would receive $200,000 in total.
If Lively were nominated for a Golden Globe, she would pocket another $75,000, and $100,000 if she secured a win. The deal also paid her $50,000 for a SAG Award nomination and $75,000 if she took home the award. Lively was not nominated for any awards.
The contract also provided Lively approval of the driver who would be taking her to and from work. The production was to provide her with exclusive use of a single, pop-out, star trailer (including customary amenities) for her use at work in New Jersey. Lively was also to receive $1,000 per week for training and meal allowance.
For any shoot days in Las Vegas, the deal said Lively was to be given a private jet that fit her, her four children, her assistant, two nannies, and her security team. She also wanted $1,500 to cover assistant fees.
The contract also had provisions that required all parties to take any issues to arbitration and not file them in public court.
As Us previously reported, Lively sued Baldoni over her experience on set. She claimed that after she raised issues, he hired a crisis PR team to smear her in the press in retaliation.
Baldoni denied he smeared Lively. He claimed she was the one who ruined his reputation with her accusations.
The parties are set to face off at a trial scheduled to start on March 9, 2026.
