Spoiler alert for It Ends With Us, a 2024 movie that 2026 audiences have had plenty of time to dissect, argue about, and stream while folding laundry. Hollywood has a long, proud tradition of pretending one place is another, usually while hoping nobody notices the palm trees behind the Prague castle. It Ends With Us — the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's controversial 2016 novel — took that tradition straight to New Jersey. The story insists on Boston and Maine. The production, however, planted its flag in Hoboken, Jersey City, Chatham, and Plainfield. The result is a geographical magic trick that remains weirdly fascinating years later, especially for viewers who paused the movie to ask, wait, is that really Boston?

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A Boston Accent Made in New Jersey

Director Justin Baldoni, who also plays Ryle Kincaid, made a relatively unique choice: no soundstage. Instead of building fake Boston on a studio lot, the production used New Jersey cities on the New York City metro side. Hoboken and Jersey City filled in for Boston. Specific locations include South House, a Jersey City restaurant that doubles as Atlas Corrigan's Restaurant Root. In real life, South House serves Southern food and is known for Jersey City nightlife. Root, by contrast, is a fictional restaurant. Field Colony, an art studio and shared workspace, was transformed into Lily Bloom's flower shop. According to Time Out, Tess Casey of Manhattan's Aisling Flowers consulted on the movie, helping create the flower shop's look. She previously consulted on The Devil Wears Prada. So yes, Lily's floral empire has a résumé.

Story Location Real Filming Location What It Doubles As
Boston Hoboken and Jersey City, NJ City streets, Atlas's restaurant, Lily's flower shop
Plethora, Maine Plainfield, NJ Lily's hometown, funeral, childhood flashbacks
Cemetery scene Fair Mount Cemetery, Chatham, NJ Father's grave, closure for Lily, her mom, and her daughter
Root South House, Jersey City Atlas Corrigan's Restaurant Root
Lily Bloom's flower shop Field Colony, Jersey City Art studio transformed into floral shop

Maine, But Make It Jersey

Plainfield, New Jersey, doubles for the fictional town of Plethora, Maine. It appears at the start when Lily goes home for her father's funeral and in flashbacks to her childhood. Plainfield is bigger than how Colleen Hoover describes Plethora in the book, but it still works. The Dutch Colonial architecture gives the small town a distinct aesthetic that contrasts with the city scenes. That idyllic appearance emphasizes the dichotomy between the romanticization of small-town life and the issues that can exist in these spaces, like abuse and homelessness. In other words, the picket fences are pretty, but they do not fix everything.

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The Cemetery That Says Closure

Fair Mount Cemetery in the suburb of Chatham, New Jersey, is another confirmed filming location. It can be seen in the added scene of Lily and her mother going to see her father's grave. This book change offers closure to Lily, her mom, and her daughter as they end the cycle of abuse. The small-town feel of Fair Mount Cemetery fits the fictional Plethora, Maine, without needing a single fake pine tree. It is a quiet, heavy scene, and the location does the emotional lifting.

Why the New Jersey Switcheroo Works

On paper, New Jersey standing in for both Boston and Maine sounds like a cinematic identity crisis. On screen, it mostly works because the film uses real places instead of glossy studio approximations. The city scenes feel lived-in, and the small-town scenes feel insulated. That contrast mirrors Lily's story: the rush of a new relationship in Boston, the buried pain of Plethora, and the difficult survival that follows. The movie, released on August 9, 2024, runs 130 minutes and is rated PG-13. It is a drama and romance directed by Justin Baldoni, written by Christy Hall and Colleen Hoover, and starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Columbia Pictures, Wayfarer Studios, and Saks Picture Company produced it, with Sony Pictures Releasing handling distribution.

By 2026, the film's location trivia has become a fun little rabbit hole. It is also a reminder that movies are logistical puzzles. Boston and Maine provide the cultural texture. New Jersey provides the streets, restaurants, cemeteries, and art studios. The audience gets to believe the illusion. New England gets to keep its lobster rolls. New Jersey gets to smirk.

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Quick Location Cheat Sheet

Story Location Real-World Stand-In What Happens There
Boston Hoboken and Jersey City, NJ Lily's adult life, Ryle, Atlas's restaurant
Root restaurant South House, Jersey City Atlas Corrigan's fictional restaurant
Lily Bloom's flower shop Field Colony, Jersey City Art studio transformed into a floral shop
Plethora, Maine Plainfield, NJ Funeral, childhood flashbacks, small-town flashbacks
Father's grave Fair Mount Cemetery, Chatham, NJ Lily and her mother visit; closure and ending the cycle

So if a 2026 viewer wants an It Ends With Us location tour, the itinerary is less Bostonian than expected. Start in Jersey City, peek at where Root and Lily's flower shop were created, drive to Plainfield for the Maine-ish main street, and stop in Chatham for the cemetery scene. Just do not ask for a lighthouse. The movie may say Boston and Maine, but its production heart beat in New Jersey — and somehow, the illusion holds. 🎬🌷🏙️🌲