Shira tells Emma about Adam’s dad being admitted to the hospital. As Adam leaves the building he calls Emma and tells her that she must be present if she is going to say that she misses him. Emma gets out of her car as the call ends and Adam is stunned to suddenly find her there. She tells Adam that she is sorry she hurt him and confesses that she really loves and cares about him and they reconcile. After eating breakfast together the next morning-something that never happened before-they arrive in Santa Barbara just before Katie’s wedding is starting. As they enter a room and pause Emma asks Adam what will happen next, and with a smile on his lips he silently intertwines her hand with his-for the first time they are holding hands together as a couple.
The end credits show an epilogue in which Alvin and Lucy are in a relationship, and are in a restaurant waiting for Adam to arrive to tell him. Vanessa had told Adam that old people scare her and she is ridden with anxiety when she is trapped in an elevator full of senior citizens. Adam and Emma are seen kissing in the park. Sam and Shira are in a relationship, but he wants his freedom and isn’t pleased when she reveals that she’s already been seeing other men. Katie is having a baby and Emma is the delivering d into a hospital room. At last, Adam and Emma are shown peacefully sleeping together.
Production
No Strings Attached is directed by Ivan Reitman based on a screenplay by Elizabeth Meriwether titled Friends with Benefits. The title was changed to avoid confusion with a different film with a similar premise that opened on ount Pictures film was first announced in as an untitled project. Actors Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman were cast in the lead roles, and Paramount anticipated a release date of . Reitman said of casual sex, “I noticed from my own kids that with this generation in particular, young people find it easier to have a sexual relationship than an emotional one. That is how the sexes deal with each other today.” Principal photography began in , the film was titled No Strings Attached with a new release date of .
Though the timing was coincidental, Portman welcomed the chance to portray a dissimilar character to her role in Black Swan.
- “Bang Bang Bang”
- “Love Lost”
- Covers of “99 Problems” and “Bleeding Love”
Release
No Strings Attached had its world premiere on , at the Fox Village Theater in Los Angeles, California. The film was released in 3,018 theaters in spiritual singles mobile site the United States and Canada on . Its target demographic was women between 17 and 24 years old, and its primary competition was The Dilemma. Interest tracking reflected the target demographic’s gaining interest in the film leading up to its release, and tracking also revealed “good early awareness” from Hispanic audiences. The studio predicted for the film to gross in the “mid-to-high teens” millions in its opening weekend, similar to past romantic comedies rated “R” (restricted to 17 years old and up) by the Motion Picture Association of America. With No Strings Attached as the only wide opener in the United States and Canada, it was uncertain if it would rank first at the box office above The Green Hornet, which opened the previous weekend in first place with $33.5 million .
Box office
Ultimately, No Strings Attached beat The Green Hornet with an opening weekend gross of $20.3 million . 70% of the audience were women. According to CinemaScore, audiences under the age of 25 gave the film an “A-” grade while audiences over the age of 25 gave it a “B” grade. Future grosses were expected to be dependent on the younger demographic.