Netflix has always maintained an exceptional array of movies, but that doesn't exempt the streaming giant from a series of truly awful endings. Just because a film has checked all the boxes on a must-have filmmaking list doesn't mean they've won the audience over with nonsensical, sub-par, confusing, or disappointing conclusions.
From failing to tie up loose ends to easily forgettable endings, some Netflix films struggled to impress with an equally remarkable conclusion. The finale of any film should feel just as satisfying as the rest of the movie, regardless of the filmmaker's artistic vision – a solid conclusion is as essential as any other aspect of the film.
10 Army Of Thieves Builds Up To A Couple Of Cameos
Fans of Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead can relive some fun and humorous aspects of the film in the prequel, Army of Thieves. It follows Ludwig Dieter, who a group of bank robbers recruits to open a set of highly secured safes around the world. While the movie is an exciting and sturdy comedy overall with very loose ties to its sequel, the film's conclusion seems to be a safe (no-pun-intended) ending for an otherwise entertaining movie.
After the long buildup of Dieter's relationship with his recruiter and expert thief, Gwen, the audience doesn't receive the closure they deserve and instead plays out as a near-end-credit scene to reference the following film.
9 Always Be My Maybe Was Too Predictable
Romantic comedies are often hit or miss in film, but 2019's Always Be My Maybe, which featured Ali Wong and Randall Park in the leads, is a delightfully heartwarming and genuinely funny flick. After childhood friends Sasha and Marcus go their separate ways in their teenage years, they rekindle the romantic tension when Sasha returns home to open her restaurant.
Despite several challenges along the way, the two eventually end up together. It's not easy to wrap up an excellent movie; romantic comedies often give lovers a happy ending by being together, but the conclusion felt unsurprising and predictable compared to such a witty and original film.
8 A Mid-Credits Scene Ruins Fear Street Trilogy's Ending
The trilogy of films that were released one right after the other over three weeks, like episodes in a series titled Fear Street, was generally well-received for such a unique and colorful adaptation of R.L. Stine's books. The film(s) follows a group of teenagers attempting to break a local curse on their town when people start getting killed.
While each film focuses on different years, are a well-thought take on horror, the ending of the third part makes the characters' efforts to succeed feel like a waste when an unknown figure appears in a "gotcha" moment, as if to restart the curse.
7 Bird Box Unnecessarily Killed Off One Of The Main Characters
When the unseen entity in Bird Box causes most of the characters in the post-apocalyptic film to die, significant character deaths are to be expected. Still, one, in particular, feels uncalled for. The immaculate character development between Malorie and fellow survivor Tom is evident when the mostly callous Malorie opens up to Tom and their two children.
However, when they're given the opportunity to escape to a safe place, Tom, who's more compassionate with the children than Malorie, sacrifices himself to save them. The sacrifice feels wrong and even more disappointing when audiences see Malorie nearly revert into her colder personality.
6 Don't Look Up Has A Grim Ending
While Don't Look Up is a darkly comedic journey filled with A-list celebrities, the serious allegory of the film regarding the actual climate crisis makes the ending even heavier. When the main characters, astronomers portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio, warn the world about an oncoming comet that will destroy the earth, humanity doesn't take their warning seriously.
Although it's satire, the film ends with the world ending and frustrating influential individuals who can do nothing but run around aimlessly. Comedic or not, the all-too-real references make the grim conclusion hard to swallow.
5 My Octopus Teacher Ends With The Harsh Reality Of Nature
The Academy-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher, is a heartfelt love letter to cephalopods. It follows documentarian Craig Foster on his unexpected friendship with an octopus. The bond between Foster and the animal becomes stronger as the female octopus lets Foster into her world, showing him how she lives in her oceanic environment.
Though the documentary is a breathtaking exploration of animal intelligence and scenic displays of the sea, the ending is heartbreaking when the same friendly octopus that Foster had followed for a year lays a group of eggs and dies.
4 Okja Should Have Given Release To All The Super Pigs
Bong Joon Ho's 2017 film, Okja, showed a young girl, Mija, doing everything in her power to protect her beloved super pig from being slaughtered. However, the emotional story unravels after Mija's genetically modified super pig, Okja, is taken away to be bred.
Though the film is uniquely detailed, the references to real-life animal agriculture practices make the movie all the more gut-wrenching when Okja does end up in a slaughterhouse. Fortunately for Okja, Mija rescues her with one of the other factory-farmed babies just in time, but it's difficult to accept that Mija must leave all the animals behind.
3 Enola Holmes Would Have Worked Better As A Series
The 2020 young-adult adaptation of a book series of the same name, Enola Holmes, puts Enola, played by Millie Bobby Brown, younger sister of the famous Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, on her own mystery adventure to find her missing mother.
Though the film ends with Enola besting her brothers and finding her mother, it feels more like the unsatisfying close of a chapter to a book than the conclusion of a singular film. The ending leaves audiences wanting much more than the film's happy ending was able to provide.
2 The Babysitter Feels Formulaic By The End
The Babysitter is a dark comedy about a young boy, Cole, who finds out his babysitter and best friend, Bee, is part of a demonic cult when he witnesses her performing a ritualistic sacrifice with her friends at his house.
The film is a funny and terrific watch, but it fails the script's originality at the end. After Cole has successfully outsmarted Bee and her cult friends, she tries to recruit him, but he ends up ramming her with a car. When authorities are investigating the damage, Bee comes back to life.
1 The Tinder Swindler Audiences Won't See Justice Served
The 2022 true-crime documentary, The Tinder Swindler, details the recent case of a conman named Simon Leviev that uses Tinder to scam unsuspecting women out of their money. Leviev would claim to be a wealthy heir, lure potential partners in with his charm, and later cheat them out of their finances by pretending to be in trouble, then cut off all contact with them.
Though the victims discover the truth, they have been left in crippling debts and emotionally ruined by Leviev's cons, and he has yet to be charged for fraud. To make matters worse, the documentary's end states that Simon is still on Tinder; however, the company claims they've since banned him from their site.