10 Alternate Movie Endings That Were Better Than The Original Cut

Warning: This article discusses topics of suicide and extreme violence.

Alternate movie endings present audiences with a fascinating take on the climax of their favorite titles, but some are better than their original cut. A new and different take on a story’s conclusion has the potential to go either way. Some alternate movie endings thankfully never happen and are completely removed before the film’s release, whereas others are widely considered to be significantly more powerful or fitting.

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A film having another ending isn’t a bad thing, however. Some of the best movies of all time have included an alternate conclusion in DVD extras or as part of an anniversary re-release. Even certain TV shows have different or additional final moments for viewers to dwell on. While these alternate movie endings aren’t generally considered canon, they offer a far better resolution than their theatrical cuts.

10 Jim Dies

28 Days Later (2003)

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The ending of 28 Days Later is open-ended and leaves Jim’s fate open to interpretation, although it is generally considered to be a relatively hopeful climax. After West shoots Jim in the chest, Selena rushes to perform an emergency surgery on him in the abandoned and empty hospital, where she astonishingly manages to save him. When he wakes, Jim joins Selena and Hannah in holding up a banner to try to catch the attention of the skies, hoping to be rescued from a world plagued by 28 Days Later’s “infected.”

28 Days Later 1

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28 Days Later is a horror movie about the zombie apocalypse directed by Danny Boyle. After Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma in a deserted hospital in London, he discovers that the city is overrun by the undead, so he joins forces with other survivors to try and make it out alive.

Director Danny Boyle Release Date June 27, 2003 Cast Megan Burns , Cillian Murphy , Christopher Eccleston , Brendan Gleeson , Naomie Harris Runtime 113 minutes Writers Alex Garland See at Walmart

The alternative ending is far more morbid, but it fits the tone of the film much better. Jim dies on the operating table, and Hannah and Selena walk out of the hospital, arm in arm. The two women’s futures are left unclear, and it’s not obvious whether the pair’s exit is implying their survival or if they’re giving up and walking to their deaths. However, this ambiguity matches the theme of the apocalyptic movie beautifully, and the lack of a happy ending makes a lot of sense, but perhaps this is something that the upcoming 28 Years Later will revisit.

9 The Coda Ending

The Godfather Part III (1990)

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The 30th anniversary recut of The Godfather Part III by Francis Ford Coppola has several interesting changes, but the most significant is how it ends. In the original version, the final scenes of the movie focus on Michael’s grief over Mary’s death. In a quite heartfelt montage, Michael dances with her, Apollonia, and Kay, which serves as his reflection of the three most important women in his life.

Then, while alone, an elderly Michael collapses and dies. However, in Coppola’s third version of the film, entitled The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, these last few moments are altered. The Coda cut removes Michael’s death altogether and instead fades to black, with him dancing with only Mary.

The Godfather Part III 2

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The Godfather Part III is the third and final film in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy. The film again focuses on Michael Corleone, who is now in his 60s and looking for his replacement as the head of the family business. While still getting favorable reviews upon release, the film is often considered a significant drop in quality compared to its predecessors.

Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date December 25, 1990 Cast Al Pacino , Andy Garcia , Diane Keaton Runtime 142minutes Writers Francis Ford Coppola

Although this moment does take away from the profound scene in the original, which also allows audiences to have a better understanding of the deep relationships he has with each woman, it does make Mary’s demise even more impactful. Michael’s heart-wrenching screams over Mary are gripping, and she deserves to receive the viewers’ full attention. The title card that translates “ for long life ” in Sicilian before fading to black is a subtle moment, but it’s even more emotional than the original’s ending.

8 Alex Frames Dan And Commits Suicide

Fatal Attraction (1987)

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Fatal Attraction is a 1987 thriller movie that looks at just how disastrous an extra-martial affair can be, and this message plays into the ending massively. In the official ending of Fatal Attraction, Dan returns home to Beth under the assumption that he has killed Alex. However, in a shocking twist, Alex pops up in their apartment, is almost drowned by Dan, and is then finally shot by Beth.

Related 9 Alternate TV Show Endings That Would Have Been Better Than What We Got

Not every show is fortunate enough to receive a proper send-off, and series like Sex and the City and The Originals have been robbed of good endings.

While this is an undoubtedly stunning and unexpected ending, especially as it would make more sense for Dan to kill Alex instead, Director Adrian Lyne’s original ending is even more shocking. Rather than the showdown between the three of them, Alex slits her own throat, and the movie establishes that she frames Dan in a jealous rage and revenge for all the heartbreak he puts her through.

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Dan Gallagher, a successful lawyer with a seemingly perfect family life, faces unimaginable turmoil after a brief affair with Alex Forrest. Initially, their fling appears to be a momentary lapse in judgment, but Alex’s intense and unstable behavior soon reveals her deep obsession. As Alex’s fixation on Dan grows, she begins to infiltrate his life, threatening his marriage, career, and even his family’s safety.

Director Adrian Lyne Release Date September 18, 1987 Cast Michael Douglas , Glenn Close , Anne Archer , Ellen Hamilton Latzen , Stuart Pankin , Ellen Foley Runtime 119 Minutes Writers James Dearden

However, Beth finds a cassette containing proof that Alex threatened suicide and proves her husband’s innocence. This is a harrowing moment, and while it paints Dan as a victim and Alex as a sociopath, it also doubles down on the film’s premise. It highlights how fragile people’s feelings are and reaffirms Fatal Attraction as one of the best thriller movies of all time.

7 Neville Seeks Out The Survivors

I Am Legend (2007)

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Will Smith’s I Am Legend has a notable movie ending that sees the main character sacrifice himself. Neville lets off a grenade that brutally destroys the Darkeekers, but it kills him in the process, leaving Anna and Ethan to deliver the cure to the survivor’s camp. The final moments of I Am Legend are narrated by Anna, who speaks about Neville’s efforts to save the human race.

However, the alternate ending to the 2007 film changes this and instead stays true to the original 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. I Am Legend’s alternate ending is a far more fitting finale for Neville. The virologist realizes his mistakes and feels guilt for his past experiments, reflecting on how his work has impacted his current situation.

I Am Legend 3

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Loosely based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Robert Neville, a virologist who believes himself to be the last human on Earth. After a virus turns most of the world’s population into vampiric creatures known as Darkseekers, Neville finds himself immune. Believing himself to be the last man of Earth, Neville stalks through the ruins of New York, hoping to create an antidote that will save humanity. 

Director Francis Lawrence Release Date December 14, 2007 Cast willow smith , Salli Richardson-Whitfield , Will Smith , Alice Braga , Charlie Tahan Runtime 101 minutes Writers Akiva Goldsman , Mark Protosevich

Although the outbreak isn’t directly his fault, he acknowledges that his role in his industry plays into it. Neville joins the survivors and faces his responsibilities. Many consider this ending to villainize Neville, but in reality, it shows his character development and growth. The alternate ending is definitely better, and I Am Legend 2 is rumored to follow this narrative, proving this fact even further.

6 Audrey II Takes Over The World

Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

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Little Shop of Horrors is one of the best musicals of all time, so it makes sense that a movie full of engaging and feel-good music and wacky characters has a happy ending. Seymour’s journey throughout the film and his connection with the baffling, carnivorous plant named Audrey II are brilliant. In the original ending, he saves the human Audrey from Audrey II, destroys the alien fauna, and marries his love.

Little Shop of Horrors’ alternate ending is technically the original, as it follows the same events as its source material.

However, a small bud of Audrey II lives in their garden, and this ambiguous theatrical ending implies that this new variation of the plant may be safe. Little Shop of Horrors’ alternate ending is technically the original, as it follows the same events as its source material. Like the stage performance, Audrey II eats her human counterpart and Seymour before successfully taking over the world.

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Based on the stage musical of the same name, Little Shop of Horrors stars Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn, a shy young man working at a florists shop in New York City who acquires a strange plant that begins to bring in more business for the shop. When Seymour learns that the plant is not only sentient but requires human blood to grow, he comes caught up in a nightmarish farce in order to keep the plant fed. Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, and Steve Martin also star. 

Director Frank Oz Release Date December 19, 1986 Cast Rick Moranis , Ellen Greene , Vincent Gardenia , Levi Stubbs , Steve Martin , Tichina Arnold , Michelle Weeks , Tisha Campbell-Martin Runtime 94 Minutes Writers Howard Ashman , Roger Corman , Charles B. Griffith

Audrey II destroys every inch of humanity, and despite the US Army’s attempts to stop her, she lunges through the screen at audiences, which is the movie’s final image. While Seymour deserves a satisfying conclusion, Audrey II’s conquest of Earth is a better ending, especially as it includes two cut songs from the Little Shop of Horrors soundtrack.

5 Evan Changes History By Killing Himself As A Baby

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

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The Butterfly Effect’s Evan Treborn is easily one of Ashton Kutcher’s best movie roles, a man who can slip into his own past and alter his timeline. In the original ending of The Butterfly Effect, Evan makes the ultimate sacrifice by creating a new reality where his friends’ lives pan out in completely different ways. Most importantly, he upsets Kayleigh during their first meeting, which results in the two never growing up together.

Related 10 Horror Movies With Alternate Cuts

There are quite a few horror movies that have seen alternate cuts released that alter things quite a bit from the original theatrical versions.

Evan closes the door on his past for one last time, burns his journals, and carries on with memories of a life that never happened. However, the director’s cut of The Butterfly Effect is extremely dramatic and far more thought-provoking. Evan travels all the way back to his birth and strangles himself in the womb with his own umbilical cord.

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The Butterfly Effect is a time travel sci-fi movie centered around Evan (Ashton Kutcher), a young man who discovers he has the ability to change events from his past by embodying his younger self. The 2004 film explores the titular concept, which states that any small change in a system’s initial conditions results in extremely different results.

Director J. Mackye Gruber , Eric Bress Release Date January 23, 2004 Cast Elden Henson , Ashton Kutcher , Melora Walters , William Lee Scott , Amy Smart Runtime 113 minutes Writers J. Mackye Gruber , Eric Bress

Even though he has little impact on his friends in the original version, their lives somehow become even better without Evan’s existence. While this is a very dark alternate ending, it actually makes more sense because it is foreshadowed. Evan knows that he doesn’t “ belong to this world ,” just as the psychic tells him, so his indirect suicide brings the story full circle.

4 Sarah’s Escape Is Just A Dream

The Descent (2005)

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Only the North American release of The Descent misses out on the film’s true ending. The Descent focuses on six women trying to escape a convoluted cave system, away from a group of horrifying cannibals who track them consistently. For most viewers in the US and Canada, The Descent ends with Sarah getting out of the cave and spotting Juno, but the rest of the world experiences her harrowing reality. The alternate ending, at least for some, serves as a reminder that The Descent is a horror movie.

The Descent 1

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The Descent is a horror film that follows a group of thrill-seeking friends who find themselves fractured after one of them loses their husband and daughter in a car accident. Attempting to rejuvenate her friend Sarah and bring her back to the group, Juno convinces her to follow her and their friends to a mysterious cave system they find in the mountains. However, when they find themselves traped with no way out, she reveals she took them to an uncharted region with no chance of rescue, hoping to give them the adventure of the life time. Angry, fearful, and low on supplies, the group travels further into the caves only to discover they’re not alone.

Director Neil Marshall Release Date August 4, 2006 Cast Shauna Macdonald , Saskia Mulder , Alex Reid , Natalie Mendoza , MyAnna Buring , Nora-Jane Noone Runtime 99 minutes Writers Neil Marshall

The final minute shows that Sarah’s escape is actually a figment of her imagination, and that she is about to succumb to the same awful fate as her friends. The abrupt jump from Sarah being out in the open to her sudden reappearance in the cave, surrounded by crawlers, is disturbing and unexpected, but it also makes a lot more sense as The Descent’s ending. Even though there is a sequel that follows the “original” ending, many prefer the film’s uncut version.

3 Tree Is Murdered By Stephanie Butler

Happy Death Day (2017)

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Happy Death Day is a fascinating take on other time loop movies like Groundhog Day, with college student Tree Gelbman taking center stage. Tree’s wild journey to discover who murders her by repeating the same day time and time again reaches its climax at the end of Happy Death Day, where she discovers that her roommate, Lori, is her killer. However, Happy Death Day’s alternate ending is both very similar and different at the same time.

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Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy film directed by Christopher Landon. Released in 2017, it follows college student Tree Gelbman, played by Jessica Rothe, who is forced to relive the day of her murder repeatedly until she can identify her killer and stop her death. The film blends elements of slasher horror with dark humor, creating a unique entry in the genre.

Director Christopher Landon Release Date October 13, 2017 Cast Jessica Rothe , Israel Broussard , Ruby Modine , Rachel Matthews , Billy Slaughter , Charles Aitken , Jimmy Gonzales , Jason Bayle , Rob Mello , Phi Vu , Caleb Spillyards , Laura Clifton , Cariella Smith , Tran Tran , Blaine Kern III , Dane Rhodes , Tenea Intriago , Missy Yager , Rachel Black , Donna DuPlantier , GiGi Erneta , Ramsey Anderson , Brady Lewis Runtime 96 minutes Writers Christopher Landon , Scott Lobdell Expand

Lori’s motive is that she is jealous of Tree’s affair with their married professor, Gregory Butler, even though she also has a relationship with him. In the alternate ending, Tree is thrown out the window, wakes up in the hospital, and is faced with Butler’s wife, Stephanie. Stephanie injects her with fatal medication, purely out of spite over her husband cheating on her with Tree. Strangely, this is a better ending because it’s so unexpected. After Tree’s tiresome search for the truth, her conclusion is abrupt and brutal, which fits the tone of the film.

2 Peter Returns For Wendy’s Daughter, Jane

Peter Pan (2003)

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Peter Pan’s timeless tale follows the titular character and his relationship with Wendy Darling, but at the end of the story, she returns home to grow up. There are many movie adaptations of Peter Pan, which are based on J.M. Barrie’s works, but the alternate ending to P. J. Hogan’s 2003 interpretation stays true to its source material.

However, in the alternate ending, Peter returns to Wendy’s London house 20 years after he defeats Hook.

In the original climax, Wendy never sees Peter again, but she keeps his spirit alive by recounting her adventures with him to her children. However, in the alternate ending, Peter returns to Wendy’s London house 20 years after he defeats Hook. The pair argue about Wendy growing up, but in a rather profound scene, Peter discovers her daughter, Jane, and bursts into tears.

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Peter Pan (2003) is an adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale directed by P.J. Hogan. Jeremy Sumpter stars as Peter Pan, who whisks Wendy Darling, played by Rachel Hurd-Wood, and her brothers to the enchanted world of Neverland. Jason Isaacs portrays the dual roles of Mr. Darling and the malevolent Captain Hook. This film showcases the adventures and conflicts in a land where children never grow up.

Director P.J. Hogan Release Date December 25, 2003 Cast Jeremy Sumpter , Jason Isaacs , Olivia Williams , Lynn Redgrave , Rachel Hurd-Wood , Richard Briers , Geoffrey Palmer , Harry Newell Runtime 113 Minutes Writers J.M. Barrie , P.J. Hogan , Michael Goldenberg

Jane is thrilled to meet Peter, who is nothing but a story to her until this, and Wendy allows her to fly away with him to Neverland. While this ending wouldn’t work nowadays, it is still better than the original, and Wendy finally getting closure on her time with Peter is a satisfying way of wrapping her story up.

1 Jack Forgets Harry Potter

Yesterday (2019)

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Yesterday’s alternate ending is very subtle and doesn’t impact the last moments of the film massively, but it does raise several questions. After Jack gives up his singing career, which allows him to share the Beatles’ music with a world that has forgotten them, he returns to his hometown and marries his childhood friend, Ellie.

In Yesterday’s original ending, Jack references Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, but Ellie doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he realizes that the Beatles aren’t the only thing from pop culture that’s missing. In the alternate version, however, Ellie is the one to bring up Harry Potter, and Jack forgets.

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Written by famous rom-com director Richard Curtis, Yesterday follows Jack Malik, a struggling musician who one day wakes up to discover that he is the only person who remembers famous 1960s rock band The Beatles. As Jack begins using his exclusive knowledge to his advantage, he must reckon with the burden of it and the price that comes with his newfound fame. The film stars Himesh Patel as Jack, with a supporting cast of Lily James, Joel Fry, Kate McKinnon, and Ed Sheeran. 

Director Danny Boyle Release Date June 28, 2019 Cast Kate McKinnon , Sophia Di Martino , Ana De Armas , Alexander Arnold , Ed Sheeran , Lily James , Camille Chen , Himesh Patel , Maryana Spivak , Joel Fry , Lamorne Morris , Ellise Chappell Runtime 116 minutes Writers Richard Curtis , Jack Barth

While this doesn’t initially seem to be significant, it’s a huge shift in Yesterday’s narrative. This moment implies that the strange circumstances that caused the Beatles to vanish from existence are more complex than the film establishes, and it makes audiences wonder if other groups oddly remember forgotten books or movies. In theory, Ellie’s memory of Harry Potter is enough to warrant a sequel to Yesterday. ​​​​​​​

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