Almost everyone has finished watching a movie only to realise they have no idea what just happened. The credits begin rolling, one person claims they understood everything, and everyone else reaches for their phone to find an explanation of the ending.
A new study has now revealed which movies have left audiences searching for the most answers, with science-fiction blockbusters, psychological thrillers and horror classics dominating the ranking. The study, by Shogo AI, analysed views of movie-ending explanations on YouTube to identify the stories audiences have found the most confusing.
The results show that even some of the biggest and most celebrated movies have sent millions of viewers online in search of answers.
Interstellar ranks as the most confusing movie by a considerable margin. Videos explaining its ending have attracted more than 31 million views, as audiences try to make sense of its time-bending space travel, mysterious bookshelf and emotional final scenes.
Joker ranks second, with ending explanations receiving more than 16 million views. The movie leaves viewers questioning how much of Arthur Fleck’s story really happened and how much may have existed only in his imagination.
Psychological thriller Shutter Island ranks third. Its famous final twist continues to send viewers searching for answers more than a decade after the movie was released, with explanation videos attracting over 13 million views.
Annihilation takes fourth place. Its surreal final sequence and mysterious alien entity have generated numerous interpretations, leaving viewers divided over what happened to the characters and what the ending means.
Rounding out the top five is No Country for Old Men. Rather than ending with a conventional confrontation or clear resolution, the movie concludes with Sheriff Bell describing a dream. That abrupt and symbolic finale has driven more than 10 million views of explanation videos.
Several major blockbusters appear throughout the remainder of the ranking. The Dark Knight Rises ranks sixth, followed by Arrival in seventh.
Despite being widely associated with confusing plots, Inception only ranks eighth. Its final shot of a spinning top has fuelled years of debate over whether Cobb returned to reality or remained trapped inside a dream.
Horror classics complete the top 10. The Shining ranks ninth, with viewers continuing to debate its mysterious final photograph and the history of the Overlook Hotel. Jordan Peele’s Us ranks tenth, as its final twist forces audiences to reconsider the identities of its main characters and the events they have just watched.
The findings suggest that a confusing ending does not necessarily deter audiences. In many cases, unanswered questions can keep people discussing, analysing and rewatching a movie long after the credits have finished rolling.
The full ranking:
| Rank | Movie | Total Views |
| 1 | Interstellar | 31,505,100 |
| 2 | Joker | 16,328,100 |
| 3 | Shutter Island | 13,130,000 |
| 4 | Annihilation | 11,352,000 |
| 5 | No Country For Old Men | 10,377,000 |
| 6 | The Dark Knight Rises | 10,088,000 |
| 7 | Arrival | 10,015,000 |
| 8 | Inception | 9,915,100 |
| 9 | The Shining | 9,898,000 |
| 10 | Us | 9,483,000 |
| 11 | American Psycho | 9,096,000 |
| 12 | Tenet | 8,312,000 |
| 13 | Fight Club | 8,203,000 |
| 14 | The Matrix Revolutions | 7,790,000 |
| 15 | The Thing | 5,466,300 |
| 16 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest | 5,382,000 |
| 17 | Donnie Darko | 4,943,000 |
| 18 | 2001: A Space Odyssey | 4,145,000 |
| 19 | Blade Runner | 4,022,300 |
| 20 | Enemy | 3,793,000 |
| 21 | mother! | 3,744,000 |
| 22 | Memento | 3,614,000 |
| 23 | Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | 3,189,200 |
| 24 | Total Recall | 1,709,700 |
| 25 | Jacob’s Ladder | 1,398,300 |
| 26 | Looper | 1,220,000 |
| 27 | A Serious Man | 1,077,000 |
| 28 | Minority Report | 801,200 |
| 29 | Brazil | 690,100 |
| 30 | 12 Monkeys | 663,300 |
Methodology:
To find these rankings, the study looked at YouTube data. They searched for the name of each movie followed by the words ending explained. They added up the view counts for the top results to see which films had the highest total. This shows exactly how many times people needed a video to help them understand the story.
Source: YouTube