Justin BaldoniDirector and star of the summer hit “It Ends With Us,” takes a moment to thank his fans … who he says helped preserve the film’s message amid a rumored feud.

We caught up with Justin in NYC, where he warmly thanked everyone who came to theaters this summer and supported the romantic drama, which tells the story of a domestic violence survivor.

He noted… “I just want to thank all the fans. With everyone. Thank you for watching this film, for supporting it, for supporting survivors and for helping us make sure the message isn’t lost. “I’m just so grateful.”

As TMZ previously reported, the debut of It Ends With Us was almost derailed when reports of a possible feud between Justin and the film’s producer/co-star, Blake Lively.

As sources told TMZ at the time…Blake felt fat shamed by Justin during production and felt uncomfortable during a kissing scene they filmed for the film.

However, other sources defended Justin … saying there was no clear villain in the drama, noting that the two simply clashed over creative differences.

Regardless, both Justin and Blake seemed to have put the issue behind them…neither have publicly commented on the drama.

When asked for an update on how everyone is doing now, Justin actually chose not to respond to our photo… and instead tuned in to the film’s release on Netflix.