10 Best Movie Endings of the 2010s, Ranked

Everything ends, including movies! Movies actually end much faster than just about everything else out there, except for, like, songs. Or albums. Most albums end faster than most movies. But TV shows take years to end, if they’re successful, and even miniseries usually take multiple hours to conclude, rather than a couple. Then you’ve got, like, the world, which hasn’t ended… yet. And the universe. That’s going to be around for a while, but apparently not forever.

Let’s stick with movies. They’re a little more digestible. And let’s stick to movies specifically released in the 2010s, and highlight those that had particularly good endings (apologies to the likes of Cinema Paradiso, Casablanca, and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, since those all had great endings, but were made – and therefore also ended – before the 2010s).

10

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2019)

One decade before Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino gleefully rewrote history with how he chose to end Inglourious Basterds, but still, he pulled off the same trick twice pretty damn well, all things considered. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes place in the titular location during the final year or so of the 1960s, and ominously builds to a seemingly inevitable (and tragic) real-life event.

But then it gets to that point, and it’s like, nope. The bad guys are defeated. The people who died in real life do not. And it seems very happy, and it is, but there’s some bittersweetness there when you realize the whole thing was a fairy tale befitting the title of the movie. It’s what could’ve been, and maybe the 1960s would’ve never ended, and wouldn’t that have been nice? It’s nice to dream. And it’s surprising when those nice dreams are also graphically violent, somehow.

9

‘La La Land’ (2016)

The central drama in La La Land is of a pretty straightforward variety. There are two people who get into a relationship while pursuing their own artistic endeavors, and then as they start to find success in their chosen fields, they have to start grappling with the question of whether their relationship can continue while everything else seems to be changing.

They do eventually go their separate ways, but then almost run into each other some years later. There’s a fantastical musical sequence (makes sense, considering this is a musical, but this sequence does feel very in line with the big dreamy sequences seen in the likes of Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris) that’s all about what could’ve been, but it wasn’t, and there’s some peace in that. There’s sadness, too, but… okay, if “peace” is too strong or positive a word, then it’s at least acceptance. It’s an ending you definitely feel intensely; that’s the main thing.

8

‘Furious 7’ (2015)

If things had gone to plan, Furious 7 would’ve had a pretty normal ending, by the standards of a Fast and Furious movie. Things did not go to plan, though, as Paul Walker died suddenly while the film was being made, and much had to be done on a technical front to keep his character, Brian, in the film. And keeping Brian around post-Furious 7 wasn’t possible, and so both Brian and Paul Walker get an emotional send-off in the movie’s final scene.

The ending could’ve been mishandled in a way that felt off or a bit much, but the oftentimes silly and blunt series really got it right here. It’s incredibly bittersweet and sincere, and the highlight not just of Furious 7, but perhaps the most iconic and memorable scene of the whole series to date. They made the most out of an upsetting and understandably challenging situation, and ultimately did both Walker and Brian justice.

7

‘One Cut of the Dead’ (2017)

It’s usually a movie that’s best not spoiled, but when you’re talking about endings, you’ve got to dig into spoiler territory, so apologies if you’ve not seen One Cut of the Dead before, but it’s really not a zombie movie. That’s the main surprise it has in store, but at the same time, that gets revealed before the halfway point, so there’s more of One Cut of the Dead that doesn’t have zombies than scenes that do, in the end.

Or, well, you realize they’re not zombies. You see all the events of the first act of the movie again, toward the end, but from different angles, and with a better idea of what’s going on, and why so much of the first 30 to 40 minutes felt so strange. The whole final act is hilarious, and then the ending – where the film within a film is finally completed – ends up being surprisingly heartwarming, and the victory feels so very well-earned.

6

‘It’s Such a Beautiful Day’ (2012)

Apologies before about that sort of existential introduction, but it’s in line with what It’s Such a Beautiful Day deals with in its ending. Most of the film’s about a man who’s lived a tragic life, and his memories start to distort and merge with his present, and it turns out that present is also tragic, because the man is dying. All this happens very quickly, too, since It’s Such a Beautiful Day is not a long movie.

The narrator (no one else speaks throughout this odd but impactful animated movie) reacts strongly to the main character’s death, and is even in denial, so he narrates what would happen if that character, Bill, just kept on living until the world around him ended, and then eventually, so too did the universe. It’s a strange and incredibly moving reflection on the seeming impossibility of immortality, and it’s similarly affecting (albeit stylistically different) to what The Good Place explored as it reached its conclusion.

5

‘Marriage Story’ (2019)

Marriage Story is about a divorce. A divorce is one way a marriage can end. It’s that or death, at least if you’re talking about definitive ways such an agreement/partnership can be an agreement/partnership no more. So, if Marriage Story is all about an ending, then it damn well better have a pretty great ending, and it does.

Like with La La Land, there is about as much peace and acceptance as you can get here. It’s not a happy ending, but it does feel like a release, and there is a feeling that things might improve from that point out. After more than two hours’ worth of scenes that are honestly pretty intense for a movie that’s just a straightforward drama (you know, no actual thriller or horror conventions here), that ultimately feels like a relief, to say the least.

4

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)

The ending to Avengers: Infinity War felt more special before Avengers: Endgame, which did inevitably undo so much of the ending, but then the consequences that remained were undone or lessened in intensity further post-Endgame. It’s all been a bit of a shame, but at the time, these movies did feel huge, and the way that Infinity War ended was honestly energizing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

Thanos wins, basically. And he wins without much of an indication of how what he did might be undone (as it turns out… time travel was the answer, for better or worse). You see a whole bunch of endearing characters turn to dust, and then you’re left with a feeling that nothing will ever be the same again. And then it sort of was the same again, eventually. But that it felt so bold and despair-filled for even a little while meant something.

3

‘Uncut Gems’ (2019)

At the end of Uncut Gems, the whole movie does ultimately stop being anxiety-inducing, since the physical embodiment of chaos at the film’s center, Howard Ratner, is shot in the face. That might seem like a horrific and upsetting ending, but Howard’s desire to score big was ceaseless, and one gets the impression he might never have been happy. He won big right before he was suddenly shot, and so he died happy.

That’s more than a lot of people get, and it makes the ending here interesting. The ending of Uncut Gems initially feels tragic, but it might’ve almost been more tragic if Howard had kept on living and causing more damage to those around him. That’s not to suggest he deserved to die, because he deserved some kind of comeuppance, albeit not one that severe, though by dying in such a way, and at such a time, he was spared trying to top the high of the win he’d just experienced. He does seem to die with a smile on his face, after all.

2

‘Toy Story 3’ (2010)

The easiest movie to include in this particular ranking, Toy Story 3 has an ending that maybe everyone found moving? Like, if you didn’t, that’s okay, but it’s also surprising. This wraps up what felt like a pretty perfect trilogy in a genuinely perfect way, as Andy finally bids his toys farewell, and his time with them well and truly ends, but in a way that feels heartwarming and inevitable.

This is all stating the obvious, though. It’s the ending to Toy Story 3. And if you want to count the last few scenes as making up the ending, then you’ve also got that harrowing sequence where the toys all accept that they’re about to die, and it’s done in a way that’s about as intense as you can make things in a G-rated movie. That actual ending, though, is also almost as sad as G-rated movies get, too.

1

‘Whiplash’ (2014)

Before La La Land, Damien Chazelle directed another movie with one of the best endings of its decade: Whiplash. This one feels easy to single out as perhaps the best of the 2010s because no matter how many times you watch it, it doesn’t stop being intense, and it never stops being thought-provoking. It’s a cathartic and thrilling ending on one hand, and an absolutely horrifying one on the other.

The main character here gets what he wants, but he’s done so many harmful things to get there, and then his monstrous instructor also gets what he wants. So the “hero” seems to win, but he’s not really a hero anymore, and then the villain winning raises questions around whether the “hero” can actually count it all as a win. People still debate the ending to Whiplash, and they probably will until the world itself ends, or people collectively decide to stop caring about movies, which itself would sort of signify the end of cinema. Whichever comes first.

And now this ranking has ended.