The Sam Raimi-directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still reigning supreme at the box office, which is mostly thanks to all of its weird surprises. And in true Raimi fashion, the last 30 seconds features a shocking, horror movie-inspired twist. The movie makes the best use of those few short seconds, but if other movies were given an extra 30 seconds, they'd be ruined completely.
Redditors have debated over which movies would be ruined the most by just an extra half a minute. And between unraveling massive plotholes, ruining iconic cliffhangers, and revealing characters' depressing realities, these movies were right to end when they did.
The Italian Job (1969)
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Though the term "cliffhanger" has been around since the 1800s and was in no way coined after audiences saw The Italian Job, there has never been a more literal approach to the storytelling technique than the 1969 movie. The crime caper literally ends with a bus full of gold balancing on the edge of a cliff. It ends before audiences find out whether Charlie (Michael Caine) and his crew survive or not.
Redditor Hellkyte notes, "Seeing the bus hanging there and Michael Caine piping up with his optimistic scheming was perfect." If the movie went on for another 30 seconds, revealing what actually happens, it wouldn't hold half as much of a legacy as it does today. Whether the crew survives or they fall to their deaths, showing either would have ruined it.
Independence Day (1996)
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For as over-the-top and ridiculous as the alien invasion movie is, Independence Day is one of the most entertaining popcorn flicks of the '90s. And after so many American monuments have been blown up, as is typical of any Roland Emmerich-directed disaster movie (Godzilla, 2012, Moonfall,) the U.S military save the day. However, Localbees reckons that the movie ended before the most disastrous moment of all happened.
The Redditor argues that the movie ends with nonstop cheering, "Followed by thirty seconds of alien ships falling out of the sky onto cities, killing countless people." Those Alien ships were miles-long, maybe the size of some cities, and that would have been more devastating than any of the actual attacks in the movie. And while 2016's Independence Day: Resurgence is one of the highest-grossing legacy sequels ever, the movie never addressed this issue.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
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Though Ferris is the titular character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and is the hero of the movie, it's Cameron who has the most engaging story arc. Cameron has a troubled home life and constantly lives in fear of his father. But he believes that after the day he's had with Ferris, he's more confident and willing to stand up to his dad.
However, as Cameron destroys his dad's Ferrari, Slaying_Mantis believes that the movie cuts to black before, "Cameron's gonna get a spanking." As Ferris has such a great home life and is so popular at school, that's led to the fan theory that Ferris is a figment of Cameron's imagination, which is more than plausible. And it also makes what the Redditor suggests that much more depressing.
Clerks (1994)
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1994's Clerks is a cult classic and was the springboard for Kevin Smith's entire career. The comedy was made with a shoestring budget, shot in black and white, and mostly takes place in one location, a convenience store. SketchyFella_ thinks that the movie would be ruined if it continued for another 30 seconds, but that's because they know what will happen, as it's a deleted scene that fans can watch on YouTube.
The Redditor explains, "In the original ending, the next thirty seconds showed a man walk into the store and shoot Dante. Lazy if you ask me." However, in the context of the beginning of the movie, ending the film with the character's murder is such a clever finale. As Dante states throughout the whole film, "I wasn't even supposed to be here today," as he's filling in for an employee who called in sick. But if the original ending was kept in the final cut, there wouldn't be the just as great Clerks II.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
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Whether audiences felt like Star Wars: The Force Awakens was too derivative of A New Hope or they thought it was the best legacy sequel ever made, there's no denying how satisfying the final minute was. After Rey had been trying to uncover Luke Skywalker's secret location for 120 minutes, she finally finds the cloaked and grizzled Jedi at the top of the mountain, and he stares at her longingly.
User 76lakers reckons that if the scene had continued for another 30 seconds, it would have been completely ruined. Unfortunately, as the sequel, The Last Jedi, continues with the same scene, fans do see the next 30 seconds, which many believe proved the Redditor right. When Rey hands Luke his lightsaber, he throws it behind his should and off the cliff, and it's regarded by many as one of the worst scenes in Star Wars history.
The Grey (2012)
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2012's The Grey is a survival movie in the wilderness, and the final scene sees Neeson face-off against a group of wolves before cutting to black. Lemonsause thinks another 30 seconds would have ruined the movie, simply stating, "R.I.P. Liam Neeson."
However, The Grey was horribly mis-marketed as another Neeson-led action flick, and audiences were expecting a whole film following Neeson fighting wolves. Even the final shot of the movie, which sees Neeson holding glass shards between his fingers, is in the trailer to make it seem that way. So while the Redditor thinks it would have ruined the movie, it's also what most viewers paid the price of admission to see.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
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Along with Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club is another John Hughes-directed 1980s coming-of-age movie. And they both interestingly share themes of abusive fathers. In the movie, rebel John Bender enjoys weekend detention at school because that means he doesn't have to spend it with his dad.
The movie ends with Bender again being more confident as he punches the sky, and the frame then freezes. If the movie continued, Eyes_are_grey notes, "Unfreeze. Bender continues home, where his abusive father beats him senseless for missing dinner." There's no doubt that would have happened when Bender got home, and it would have undone all of the hopefulness in the closing moments of the movie.
Thelma And Louise (1991)
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At the end of Thelma and Louise, the titular characters are on the run from the police and have nowhere to go. They drive off a cliff, and when they're in midair, the screen fades to white. WheresTheFlan notes that the movie would be ruined if audiences saw the car crash and Thelma and Louise's crushed bodies.
It's hardly going to see them land safely, and it's hardly going to see the car miraculously flying as it does at the end of Grease. Instead, Thelma and Louise will be killed instantly when the car lands bumper first into the canyon. However, just as The Simpsons has seemingly portrayed everything anyone has ever thought of, the cartoon also depicted what the final 30 seconds of Thelma and Louise would have looked like in "Marge on the Lam."
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
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The ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid sees the two criminals hiding in a barn from the Bolivian army, but it doesn't take long until they're surrounded. Just like with Thelma and Louise, the titular characters are cornered and the next 30 seconds of the movie would be utterly tragic.
Redditor VictorBlimpmuscle explains that in the last 30 seconds of the movie, "Basically, you'd just see them get mowed down by the Bolivian army." Butch and Sundance exit the barn guns blazing before the frame freezes, and it at least inspires hope that they will escape. But realistically, the bank robbers get massacred.
Fight Club (1999)
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User The Great Searcher thinks 30 seconds more of the Fight Club ending would have ruined the film's impact, as it closes with the Narrator and Marla holding hands as they watch buildings blow to smithereens. However, as the movie is based on the novel of the same name, one more thing happens in the book; the Narrator is put in a mental institution after getting caught.
Fight Club is one of the most faithful movie adaptations of a novel, as the ending is one of a few minor differences. And author Chuck Palahniuk agrees that the movie ended perfectly, as according to DVD Talk, even he admits that the film is better than the book.