Movies should always strive to end on a strong note.
This of course includes the ending to the film itself. A strong resolution to its story, a memorable final shot, a conclusion that leaves the audience feeling satisfied. All of this is incredibly important for a movie to stick the landing and leave itself nestled in a positive spot in the audience's brain.
Another aspect of a film's finale is its credits. They can sometimes be an afterthought but a strong final credits crawl can leave a film with an even more emphatic finale. This can include leaving the audience with a catchy tune, something the following films do extremely well.
1. The Social Network
Jesse Eisenberg
Andrew Garfield
Armie Hammer
Justin Timberlake
Max Minghella
Josh Pence
Brenda Song
Rashida Jones
John Getz
David Selby
Denise Grayson
Directed by David Fincher, this biopic about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg and the creation of Facebook is a critically acclaimed and modern classic film. A beautifully shot and masterfully written (Oscar-winning level) piece of cinema, the film's brilliance extends beyond its scenes and into its end credits as the song “Baby You’re a Rich Man” by the Beatles plays over the final crawl. This adds to the end not only thanks to its groovy sound but also its thematic elements of money and celebrity that are relevant to the film.
Check out the full The Social Network soundtrack here.
2. Joker
Joaquin Phoenix
Robert De Niro
Zazie Beetz
Frances Conroy
Brett Cullen
Shea Whigham
Bill Camp
Glenn Fleshler
Leigh Gill
Josh Pais
Rocco Luna
Marc Maron
One of the more standout comic-book films over the past 15 years, Joker is an interesting and unique movie whose quality and success is due in big part to Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-winning turn as the killer clown, as well as Tom Phillips skillful direction. It’s also a film that makes great use of its music throughout and ends with the classic “That’s Life” by the legendary Frank Sinatra. The song spills from the movie's final scene and into the end credits and serves to match the eerie calmness of Arthur Fleck as we leave him in the film.
Check out the full Joker soundtrack here.
3. The Matrix
83%
73
8.7
Keanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
Carrie-Anne Moss
Hugo Weaving
Joe Pantoliano
Marcus Chong
Anthony Ray Parker
Matt Doran
Gloria Foster
Belinda McClory
Paul Goddard
Robert Taylor
The definition of a classic, The Wachowski siblings’ action/sci-fi film about Neo and the truth of the world he is living in is one of the most successful and popular films of all time. With great performances from Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Ann Moss, and Hugo Weaving to go along with the Wachowski's interesting direction, the film is timeless. The film ends with “Wake Up” by Rage Against the Machine, an absolute rager that matches the film's theme of awareness of the world you live in and going against its injustices.
Check out the full The Matrix soundtrack here.
4. Fight Club
Edward Norton
Brad Pitt
Helena Bonham Carter
Meat Loaf
Jared Leto
Zach Grenier
Holt McCallany
Eion Bailey
Richmond Arquette
David Andrews
George Maguire
Eugenie Bondurant
***** **** is a classic David Fincher film with all-star performances from the cast starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Jared Leto, Meatloaf, and more. It’s a phenomenal film full of twists and turns. The biggest twist comes from the end which sees (Spoilers Ahead) the main character (Norton) find out that the man he has been talking to, Tyler Durden (Pitt), was never real and was simply a manifestation of his inner desires to rage against the machine of capitalist America. This twist of psychosis lends itself well to the use of the song “Where is My Mind?” by the Pixies as its end credits theme.
Check out the full Fight Club soundtrack here.
5. Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman
Michael B. Jordan
Lupita Nyong'o
Danai Gurira
Martin Freeman
Daniel Kaluuya
Letitia Wright
Winston Duke
Sterling K. Brown
Angela Bassett
Forest Whitaker
Andy Serkis
Marvel has maintained a stranglehold on the box office for over a decade and amongst its biggest successes stands 2018’s Black Panther. This is a great film, directed by Ryan Coogler, that sees the late, great Chadwick Boseman take on the mantle of The Black Panther and go up against Michael B. Jordan’s charismatic villain Killmonger. Parts of the soundtrack were curated and crafted by Grammy award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar. It’s a soundtrack full of great songs and one of the standout tracks on its run is used as the end credits, the amazing “All The Stars” by Kendrick Lamar featuring R&B artist SZA.
Check out the full Black Panther soundtrack here.
6. A Knight's Tale
Heath Ledger
Rufus Sewell
Shannyn Sossamon
Paul Bettany
Laura Fraser
Mark Addy
Alan Tudyk
Bérénice Bejo
Scott Handy
James Purefoy
Leagh Conwell
Christopher Cazenove
This fun film, directed by Brian Helgeland and starring Heath Ledger, is a bit of a cult classic. It follows the story of Peasant William Thatcher as he tries to change his life through the love of a fair maiden and tournament jousting. It’s a very entertaining film, and that enjoyment extends to the end credits. The incredibly kick-ass and all-time great anthem “We Are The Champions” by Queen plays out the final crawl and leaves the audience with a final feeling of triumph that helps hammer the film's story home.
Check out the full A Knight's Tale soundtrack here.
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Logan Lerman
Emma Watson
Ezra Miller
Mae Whitman
Kate Walsh
Dylan McDermott
Melanie Lynskey
Nina Dobrev
Johnny Simmons
Joan Cusack
Paul Rudd
Nicholas Braun
One of the greatest coming-of-age films of the past two decades, this film is based on Stephen Chbosky’s acclaimed novel of the same name and is directed by the author himself. It’s a beautiful film of main character Charlie’s first year of high school and the adventures he goes on with the group of seniors that he befriends. It’s also a film that makes great use of music, fitting in line with Charlie as he is a huge fan of music throughout the story. This amazing use of music comes through in the end of the film as the final scene is scored to the classic “Heroes” by David Bowie which continues into the credits and ends the movie on a powerful note.
Check out the full The Perks of Being a Wallflower soundtrack here.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Chris Pratt
Zoe Saldaña
Dave Bautista
Karen Gillan
Pom Klementieff
Vin Diesel
Bradley Cooper
Sean Gunn
Chukwudi Iwuji
Will Poulter
Maria Bakalova
Elizabeth Debicki
Perhaps Marvel’s greatest trilogy, the Guardians of the Galaxy is a series filled with entertaining moments and great action. They also boast some of the best storytelling in the MCU thanks in large part to the skilled direction and writing of James Gunn. Another aspect that makes these films stick out amongst the modern crapshoot of superhero films is their use of classic pop music. This appreciation of music from the ‘'70s-'90s comes mostly from the main character of the series Peter Quill a.k.a Star-Lord (Played by Chris Pratt) who often listens to music from Earth as a reminder of his home planet that he was taken from as a child. One of the preeminent songs throughout the series, and the one used as the end credits theme for the final film in the trilogy, is the classic and groovy “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone.
Check out the full Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 soundtrack here.
9. Goodfellas
Robert De Niro
Ray Liotta
Joe Pesci
Lorraine Bracco
Paul Sorvino
Frank Sivero
Tony Darrow
Mike Starr
Frank Vincent
Chuck Low
Frank DiLeo
Henny Youngman
One of the greatest films of all time, Martin Scorcese’s retelling of the Henry Hill story is a triumph of the Mob movie subgenre and is fantastic in every element of filmmaking. From the great direction, to the strong script, to the performances by Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert DeNiro; this film has so much to enjoy. Something else audience members may find enjoyable is the end credits of the movie which see not only one but two fantastic songs play the viewer out. These two tracks are “My Way” by Sid Vicious and “Layla” by Eric Clapton. The tracks are transitioned perfectly from one to another and do a phenomenal job of closing the book on an amazing story.
Check out the full Goodfellas soundtrack here.
10. Rocky III
Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Carl Weathers
Mr. T
Burgess Meredith
Tony Burton
Hulk Hogan
Ina Fried
Al Silvani
Wally Taylor
Jim Hill
The third film in the iconic Rocky franchise tells the story of Rocky’s struggle with complacency as the heavyweight champion of the world, and the young up-and-comer Clubber Lang (Mr. T) who comes to knock Rocky from the top of the mountain. It’s one of the more divisive films of the series but is still generally considered solid and is full of fun moments and great action. Among the strengths of the movie is its end credit song which uses the legendary anthem “Eye of The Tiger” by Survivor to close out its runtime.
Check out the full Rocky III soundtrack here.