Hollywood loves a good apocalypse. Usually, though, we’re watching Will Smith wander through a desolate Manhattan or Tom Cruise sprinting away from tripods. We don't usually see Seth Rogen and James Franco arguing about a Milky Way bar while the world literally burns down around them. That’s the magic of 2013's This Is the End. It’s a movie that starts as a parody of celebrity narcissism and ends as a surprisingly literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation. But if you’ve watched it lately, you know the This Is the End movie ending is more than just a punchline. It’s a weirdly sincere look at friendship, redemption, and the Backstreet Boys.
Honestly, the first time I saw it, I expected a dark ending. Most R-rated comedies about the end of the world lean into the nihilism. Instead, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg gave us something else. They gave us "the beam."
The Mechanics of the This Is the End Movie Ending
The logic of the movie is pretty straightforward, even if the characters are too high or too self-absorbed to realize it at first. It’s the biblical Rapture. Blue beams of light snatch up the "good" people, leaving the "bad" ones—mostly actors—to deal with giant demons and sinkholes. By the time we reach the This Is the End movie ending, the group has been whittled down significantly.
Jay Baruchel is the moral compass, albeit a grumpy one. Seth Rogen is the guy stuck in the middle. Everyone else? They're mostly gone. Jonah Hill got possessed and subsequently "exorcised" (badly). Craig Robinson sacrificed himself to save the others, proving that selfless acts are the ticket to the VIP lounge in the sky. Danny McBride... well, he became a cannibal king.
The climax happens outside James Franco’s fortress. A massive, multi-story demon—which, let's be real, has some very specific anatomical features—is looming over them. This is where the movie stops being just a party film and starts testing the characters' souls.
Why Franco Didn't Make It
James Franco’s "death" is one of the funniest and most telling parts of the entire sequence. He almost makes it. He really does. He starts to ascend in a blue beam because he makes a "selfless" gesture to stay behind so Seth and Jay can live. But he can't help himself. As he’s floating up, he starts taunting Danny McBride. He goes right back to being a petty, arrogant jerk, shouting insults and flipping the bird.
The beam cuts off.
He falls.
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He gets eaten.
It’s a blunt metaphor for the movie’s version of morality: it’s not just about what you do; it’s about who you are when you think you’ve already won. The This Is the End movie ending suggests that "goodness" isn't a destination you reach and then stop. It's a constant state of being. Franco failed the vibe check at the last possible second.
The Final Sacrifice and the Pearly Gates
Seth and Jay are the last two left. The demon is right there. Jay is being pulled up into Heaven, but Seth is stuck. He’s not "good" enough yet. In a moment that mirrors Craig Robinson’s earlier exit, Seth lets go of Jay’s hand so that Jay can be saved. He accepts his death. He chooses his friend over his own life.
Suddenly, a beam hits Seth.
This is the core of the This Is the End movie ending. Redemption is possible, even for someone who spent the last decade making dick jokes and ignoring their best friend's feelings. Seth is pulled up, and in a classic Goldberg/Rogen move, he almost gets severed in half by the beam because Jay is still holding onto him while the beam is trying to pull Seth up. It’s messy. It’s gross. It’s perfect.
Heaven is a Mall?
When they finally arrive in Heaven, it’s not clouds and harps. It’s basically the ultimate version of a 1990s teenager's dream. It’s a place where you can have whatever you want just by wishing for it. For Jay Baruchel, that means a Segway and a joint that never ends.
But the real kicker—the thing everyone remembers—is the musical number.
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Throughout the movie, there are references to the Backstreet Boys. When Jay wishes for them to be there, they appear. We get a full-blown choreographed performance of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)." It’s a bizarre, euphoric, and surprisingly high-budget finale for a movie that spent most of its runtime in a single house. It works because it leans into the absurdity. If Heaven is supposed to be your "personal paradise," then for these guys, it’s a 90s pop concert.
Addressing the "Cannibal" Elephant in the Room
One thing people often forget about the This Is the End movie ending is the fate of Danny McBride and Channing Tatum. Yes, Channing "C-Tates" Tatum. In one of the most unexpected cameos in cinema history, Tatum appears as McBride’s gimp.
It’s a dark, weird subplot that serves a purpose. It shows the alternative to the Rapture. If you aren't taken up, you don't just die; you descend into a Mad Max style hellscape of your own making. McBride didn't just survive; he leaned into the chaos. He embraced the worst version of himself. While Seth and Jay were learning to be selfless, Danny was learning how to cook people. It’s the ultimate contrast.
Real-World Context: Why It Worked
Back in 2013, this movie was a huge risk. It cost about $32 million to make—which isn't nothing for a comedy—and it relied entirely on the audience liking (or at least being interested in) these actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves.
According to various interviews with Rogen and Goldberg, the ending was always supposed to be big. They didn't want to shy away from the supernatural elements. They wanted the monsters to be scary and the Heaven to be... well, like that. Critics at the time, including those at Rolling Stone and The New York Times, noted that the film’s strength was its "unabashed silliness" paired with a genuine heart. The This Is the End movie ending succeeds because it doesn't wink at the camera and say "just kidding." It commits to the bit.
Misconceptions About the Ending
Some viewers think the whole thing was a drug-induced hallucination. There’s a popular theory that the Milky Way bar was laced or that they all died in the initial earthquake and the rest is a "Bardo" state.
Honestly? That’s overthinking it.
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The filmmakers have been pretty clear that the events are literal within the world of the movie. The Rapture happened. The demons are real. The Backstreet Boys in Heaven are real. The movie is a satire of Hollywood egos, but the stakes are meant to be genuine. If it were "all a dream," the character growth wouldn't matter. Seth’s sacrifice only means something if he actually thought he was going to die.
Lessons from the Apocalypse
What can we actually take away from the This Is the End movie ending? Aside from the fact that we should all probably be nicer to our friends from back home?
First, it’s a masterclass in tone management. You can jump from a cannibalism joke to a sincere moment of sacrifice if you’ve built the characters well enough. We care about Seth and Jay’s friendship, so when they finally make it to Heaven, we’re happy for them.
Second, it’s about the "Late Style" of comedy. Rogen and his crew were at the height of their powers here. They took the "Apatow Style" of loose, improvisational dialogue and shoved it into a high-concept genre film. It paved the way for other genre-bending comedies that followed.
Next Steps for Your Rewatch:
- Pay attention to the background: In the early party scenes, you can actually see "signs" of the coming apocalypse that the characters are too busy to notice.
- Check out the original short: Before it was a feature, it was a short called Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse. It’s much grittier and lacks the whole "Heaven" aspect.
- Listen to the soundtrack: The use of music in the final ten minutes is incredibly deliberate, specifically how the tone shifts from the terrifying orchestral score of the demon fight to the pop-synth of Heaven.
The This Is the End movie ending remains one of the most satisfying "big" endings in modern comedy. It’s loud, it’s offensive, it’s visually chaotic, but at its core, it’s just about two guys trying to be better people. Even if it took the literal end of the world to get them there.