I’m sure that all you movie lovers out there will agree that there’s nothing worse than sitting through a movie, only to have it ruined by a bad ending.

The list of good movies that have been ruined by a bad ending is tragically far too long.

From Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence to John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink, far too many good movies have been ruined by a bad ending.

Sadly, this phenomenon still exists today.

Fans of the hit TV series Game of Thrones were outraged at the recent final episode of the series.

They even launched a petition calling on HBO to re-film the final episode with a better ending.

So, while loyal fans seethe at being robbed of a great ending, the question is, can movie production companies do anything to ensure the best ending?

Thanks to advances in the technology of big data analytics, finally, the answer is yes.

Big Data Analytics Moviemaking

The use of data to enhance the services provided by software companies is nothing new.

From the very advent of the Internet, companies of all shapes and sizes have used the data that they have acquired from their users to enhance their services.

Whether this was Microsoft using feedback data to enhance their flagship Windows software, or more recently, leading online streaming platforms such as Netflix and our own Sofy.tv to improve user recommendations, data has proven a powerful tool for companies everywhere.

Over the past few years, several companies have emerged that specialize in the field of applying big data analytics to moviemaking.

Largo is one such company.

To date, we at Largo have used our sophisticated big data analytics software, LargoAI, to help film production companies improve their movies by offering clear insight into how audiences will react.

These insights also include an analysis of how audiences will receive a movie’s ending.

This empowers filmmakers to change the ending to make it more appealing to the target audience.

To find out more about data-driven moviemaking, head to the Largo website for more information.

Examples Of Movie’s That Had Their Ending Changed

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1. Titanic

Test screenings of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic yielded some pretty strong suggestions for changes that would make the movie more satisfying to audiences.

Unfortunately for audiences everywhere, one of the most popular suggestions, that the ship not sink and arrive safely to its destination in New York, was simply too ridiculous to include.

However, the original ending was re-filmed.

The ending, which featured the older Rose being caught throwing her diamond into the ocean, despite an eager Bill Paxon trying to persuade her not to, was cut in favor of a different version.

Had the production team behind Titanic consulted with a data-driven moviemaking company such as Largo at the script phase, then this ending would have been flagged up and therefore would never have been filmed at all.

2. A Nightmare On Elm Street

In what is arguably his most famous movie, director Wes Craven caved in to pressure from the movie’s producer to change the film’s ending in order to set up a sequel.

Craven stated that it remains one of the biggest regrets of his long career.

The movie’s ending was changed to include a twist that would allow for a sequel.

The original ending involved the main protagonist Nancy, realizing that if she stopped believing in Freddy, that he simply would cease to exist.

It is not known how audiences would have reacted to the original ending and whether it had would have made the movie better.

Had data-driven moviemaking been available at the time, then the insights offered by companies such as Largo would have allowed the producers to understand exactly how audiences would have reacted.

3. When Harry Met Sally

What a tragic ending it would have been had Harry not gotten together with Sally in Rob Reiner’s classic masterpiece.

Most fans of this romantic comedy are unaware that the original ending for this movie left Harry and Sally as friends and not staying together romantically.

This original ending certainly would have robbed fans of a happy ending as well as removing some layers of the story.

Thankfully, however, the production team got it right in the opinion of audiences by changing the ending.

Once again, data-driven moviemaking could have confirmed the importance of this change by providing the production crew with valuable insights into the audience reaction.

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4. 28 Days Later

When audiences got their hands on the special DVD edition of 28 Days Later, they finally got to see the original ending.

Fans were split regarding which one they preferred.

The original ending was far more downbeat and included the death of Cillian Murphy’s character Jim.

During the production, the studio got cold feet and decided to shoot an ending where the main protagonists are rescued.

This ending was viewed as far more commercially viable as audiences would leave satisfied and not feeling downhearted.

However, many fans, upon seeing the original ending, felt that they were robbed of the ending that would have made the film greater.

Data-driven moviemaking would have been able to provide the producers with accurate insights regarding audience reaction to both endings so that they could see exactly which one to finish the movie with.

5. Suspicion

Director Alfred Hitchcock very seldom didn’t get his way.

However, his 1941 film ‘Suspicion’, was one production where he was overruled.

Hitchcock wanted the film to end in the same way as the original novel. His ending would have had the Cary Grant character being unmasked as a murderer.

This was too much for the studio who felt that having Cary Grant play a bad guy was a bad idea.

Today, it is obvious that Hitchcock’s desired ending would have made the film a true classic.

Had data-driven moviemaking been available at the time, perhaps Hitchcock would have had the evidence he needed to persuade the studio that his ending was better.