15 Movies with Cliffhanger Endings (and No Sequel)

Some movie endings aren’t really satisfying.

Image source: Screen Rant

With as many sequels as Hollywood has been making these days, you’d think they would make sequels to movies that didn’t end the right way, if you ask many fans. Some movies have cliffhanger endings that never get addressed, even years after the movie’s release. For this list, the number 15 entry is the start, and the number 1 entry is at the bottom. And, as if it needed to be said, beware of major spoilers.

The Italian Job (1969)

Kicking off this list is a classic that has a 2003 remake of the same name, but no sequel. The original car-chase comedy's final scene has the main character, Charlie Croker, a criminal, along with a gang, create a traffic jam to deflect attention from the gang escaping and completing their mission. But things go wrong when the bus carrying them crashes through road barriers and is hanging off the side of a cliff (making this a literal cliffhanger ending). The weight of the gang's loot causes the bus to tilt on the edge, and as Croker turns to the gang and says "hang on a minute, lads. I've got a great idea", that's when the credits begin to roll. Even though it's been over 50 years since this movie's release, there's been no follow-up, leaving it to the audience's imagination as to what Croker's idea was, whether it's to save the loot or abandon it and go on another crime spree.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Adapted from the Japanese manga series Gunnm, director Robert Rodriguez brings to life the story of a female cyborg with a human brain. Despite being filled to the brim with action and the sci-fi world of the year 2563, the plot was seemingly left incomplete. Not only that, but the movie's ending is more than just a cliffhanger. Even though it's over 2 hours long, it ends at what feels like halfway through the story. On top of that, a sequel is less likely to happen since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox. But there is still a sliver of hope. Rodriguez and star Rosa Salazar have expressed interest in a sequel. But as of this article's writing, no sequel is in sight.

The Host (2006)

A monster movie usually ends well when the monster in question is defeated. And while that is what happens in this movie, that doesn't mean the ending is satisfying in every way. The movie never gives the answer as to whether or not the monster is dead, leaving audiences with a feeling that it may come back. And as if it couldn't be more tantalizing for viewers, a teaser sequence was released in 2012, which was never developed into a sequel to the original. In addition, director Bong Joon-ho said in 2010 that a sequel was in development, but he had no part or interest in it, as he is uninterested in making sequels to his movies. And over a decade and a half later, no sequel has come out.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Arguably the most influential film on this list, this massive sci-fi epic, we journey from mankind's beginnings to the futuristic space age craze of the time. And in the midst of all this, a clueless astronaut tries his best to survive. Anyway, after defeating a robot named HAL which has risen up against humanity (foreshadowing alert), Dr. David Bowman leaves the main spaceship in a pod to investigate a monolith, of which many appear throughout the film. But the pod goes through what can only be described as a black hole. Later, Bowman finds himself looking at different versions of himself in a room and sees himself dying. Another monolith appears in the room, and Bowman tries to touch it. But he becomes a "star baby," of sorts, and ends up as a floating fetus above the Earth. So, maybe not really a cliffhanger ending as opposed to an unsatisfying ending, but it made the list, nonetheless.

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

John Carpenter's kung fu, comedy, and action-filled extravaganza had a pretty empty ending, if we're being honest. The heroes have saved the day and have celebrated, and Jack Burton is now leaving San Francisco in his big rig truck (called the Pork Chop Express, by the way). The camera pans to the back of his truck as Jack is narrating a story to himself, and one of the creatures that the group has encountered along their journey under Chinatown pops up from underneath Jack's truck. This leaves us with an ending open to question. But being a box office flop likely isn't the only reason this one won't get a sequel. Recently, actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson expressed interest in bringing the world of Big Trouble in Little China back onto the big screen. To say that John Carpenter didn't take it too well would be an understatement. Carpenter released a statement saying, "they don't [care] about me and my movie."

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

It didn't sit well with many fans that Andrew Garfield didn't get a third go as Spider-Man. But it probably sat even worse with fans that the sequel to 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man didn't end in the best way, not to mention having a new interpretation of the character just five years after Tobey Maguire's last outing in 2007's Spider-Man 3, even though Garfield is different from Maguire's Spider-Man. Both the trilogy and Garfield's two movies did well at the box office, and that left fans waiting for a third installment in what they hoped would be the Garfield trilogy. But that never came, despite the fact that a third movie could've easily been made, considering the ending sees Peter Parker don the Spider-Man suit and leap back into action again, as well as battle against the Rhino, without showing audiences how it ends. Of course, this wasn't meant to be the end of Andrew Garfield's interpretation of the character, but as fate would have it, Garfield's Spider-Man returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), where he mentions fighting Rhino. But that doesn't take away from audiences never getting to see what we can only assume was an awesome fight.

Batman Returns (1992)

For this entry, we're ignoring Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). Anyway, it was lucky that audiences got a sequel to Tim Burton's Batman (1989), as Tim Burton is well known for not making sequels to his movies. But we did get this. And unlike practically every other movie on this list, the ending was mostly satisfactory. Max Schreck dies, the Penguin is given a proper sendoff by his flightless companions, and Catwoman's silhouette looks at the bat signal. Now, it should go without saying that audiences wanted more of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, since hers is, arguably, the most popular interpretation of the character.

The Golden Compass (2007)

Being a box office flop (in the US, in this case) certainly doesn't help a movie get a sequel. That's probably the reason this would-be franchise didn't take off. Adapted from the first book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, the two sequels were axed by New Line Cinema due to failing numbers at the American box office. Not only that, but New Line Cinema itself was absorbed into Warner Brothers the year after this movie's release, meaning New Line Cinema couldn't function independently from then on. In the end, audiences were left without any answers as to why most of the best parts of the book, originally titled "Northern Lights," were cut from the movie, and why the final battle takes place after the movie's end credits begin. Thankfully for fans of Philip Pullman, the BBC has another adaptation of Pullman's work, titled His Dark Materials.

Cooties (2014)

Okay, this one may not have been as big as the others on this list, but it won a spot on the list anyway because, for a small production, it not only had several big-name actors like Elijah Wood, Jack McBrayer, and Rainn Wilson, but it also had two disappointing endings. In the original ending, the escapees find themselves in a campsite, where hordes of zombie children are waiting for them. After Lionsgate purchased the distribution rights, they gave the filmmakers enough money to have a different ending. Despite that, the new ending sees them drive off into the night, with a zombie child on fire chasing after their vehicle.

District 9 (2009)

By the end of this movie, protagonist Wilkus had fully transformed into a prawn alien, but not all hope was lost. The story tells audiences that the prawn alien mothership will return to Earth in three years' time with the method of turning Wilkus back into a human. South African-Canadian director Neill Blomkamp has teased movie fans for nearly two decades with the potential title of District 10, and despite being said to be in various stages of development, nothing has gotten off the ground so far, leaving the prawn aliens' promise completely unfilfilled.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

1988 was a very good year for sequels (barring Caddyshack II), and it also brought us some original stories like Die Hard and Twins. Killer Klowns from Outer Space was original, too. But that didn't mean it would get a sequel. The closing shot of the movie sees the survivors get pies thrown on them. (Never mind that these pies are acidic and dissolve whatever they get thrown onto). For the next 24 years, this movie would become a semi-classic, until it was said in 2012 by the Chiodo brothers (the makers of the movie) that a sequel, titled Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3D was planned. Then, in 2018, Syfy announced it was in talks to make one or more sequels. But those haven't gotten anywhere so far. Although, that's not counting a 2024 video game, released 36 years after the original movie.

Inception (2010)

As is true with other Christopher Nolan films, it's easy to get lost in Inception if you aren't paying attention. Even though the concept is explained as best as it can be, it can be hard to follow at certain times. And the conclusion is pretty clear, given that we see Cobb's team implant the idea deep inside Fischer's mind, and the objectives have been met. Cobb is now free, but there's still doubt, since Cobb takes out his totem (a device that confirms if he is dreaming or not) and spins it. The camera zooms in on the totem, but before we can see if it was a dream or not, the scene cuts and the end credits begin. This was certainly a decisive decision by Nolan, and it has left fans wondering whether or not Cobb was dreaming. Nolan himself has provided insights on this, but we aren't really sure if he's being honest.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

This classic from Ridley Scott tells of two friends who take a road trip to escape their boring lives. But things take a turn for the worse when a bar incident makes them fugitives on the run from the long arm of the law. The rest of the movie follows them as the FBI hunts them down. The final act is a chase through the desert, and rather than surrender to the authorities, they decide to drive over the edge of the Grand Canyon. Their Ford Thunderbird convertible goes over the edge and the credits roll. While it is fairly obvious what happened to them, most movie fans agree that the lack of answers simply works as a fair conclusion.

Honorable mention: The Vast of Night (2019)

Another lesser known and underrated movie, this one sees a Fay, switchboard operator, and Everett, a radio DJ, in a town in New Mexico in the late 1950s. Things start getting weird quickly, though, as the two investigate an alien audio signal. After broadcasting the audio, they accidentally alert the alien entities, which are hiding in the sky. While the town is distracted by a high school basketball game, Fay and Everett decide to investigate the audio's source, leading them to an open field. The alien's spacecraft seemingly closes in on both of them in the field, and the two get pulled into the spaceship, leaving behind only footprints and a tape recorder. The ending supposedly implies that, even though the recording has been caught on tape, Fay and Everett are lost forever, having disappeared into "the vast of night." Director Andrew Patterson conceived as a standalone, self-contained story, where the ending is left to open interpretation. And Patterson himself is said to be working on other projects, as of this article's writing.

The Birds (1963)

The ending to this one is definitely one of the darkest in Alfred Hitchcock's career. After the titular birds have terrorized the town of Bodega Bay, California, they've cornered a family and eventually force the family to leave. The family then silently gets in their car to leave, while the many birds outside glare at them. It's up to the viewer to decide if the family is safe anymore, and that's not counting the many questions the movie leaves. What caused them to attack in the first place? Will they strike again? As is true with Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock didn't really do sequels, which is why these questions will likely remain unanswered forever.