Blake Lively’s "It Ends With Us" Banned in Qatar

The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling romance novel “It Ends With Us” has been banned in Qatar.

The country’s censorship committee has blocked the PG-13 film from a theatrical release, sources close to the Sony Pictures and Wayfarer Studios film said.

“It Ends With Us” features kissing scenes and a non-graphic intercourse scene in which the characters keep their undergarments on.

Qatar has very strict censorship rules and a history of banning American movies, including Greta Gerwig’s women-empowerment comedy “Barbie,” the animated superhero adventure “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Eternals” — all of which were rated PG-13 in the U.S.

“It Ends With Us” stars Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, and more. 

It follows small-town girl Lily Bloom (Lively), who moves to Boston to start her own business. Though coming from a complicated past, Bloom has always known the life she wants. While living in Boston, she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) and believes she may very well have found her soul mate. Soon, however, questions arise about their relationship, and to complicate matters her high school love interest, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), comes back into the picture, putting her relationship with Ryle in jeopardy.

Baldoni directs from a screenplay by Christy Hall based off Hoover’s book. Alex Saks, Jamey Heath, and Hall are producers. Executive producers are Lively, Hoover, Steve Sarowitz, Andrew Calof, and Baldoni.

The adaptation popular romance novel cost only $25 million to produce and is expected to turn a profit. It opened with $7 million in Thursday previews, leading some estimates to reach $40 million to $50 million.