10 Greatest Cliffhangers In Movie Franchise History

Great movie cliffhangers leave audiences desperate for more. They take your audience by surprise, ending the film with such a twist that it demands a follow up; done right you've got your audience pre-booked in their seats long before the first trailer for the sequel hits the internet. These are more than simple teases - like the Joker's calling card at the end of Batman Begins, they are the big game changers that look set to take the franchise in an interesting new direction. Playing against convention, be it the shocking death of a hero or the enemy winning, can be a great way to build on the anticipation for the next film. Ever since The Empire Strikes Back blasted onto cinema screens, the dark ending has become a staple of many middle movies in a trilogy. It raises the stakes for the final instalment, leaving audiences to question how our heroes can possibly turn things around. But it doesn't have to be all dark and despair either; the aim is to leave your audiences hungry for more and an exciting promise of adventure can be just as effective as the villain winning the day. This article looks at those films that followed up their cliffhangers with another sequel. After all, if a film ends on a cliffhanger that's promised to be resolved, yet gets no pay-off, is it really a cliffhanger or just a non-ending? Of course, the same can be said for sequels that fail to deliver on the promise of the previous film's ending. Which begs the question; is a cliffhanger only successful if that pay-off is satisfying?