14 of the Earliest Post-Credit Scenes in Movie History
Horror movies didn’t invent the post-credit scene, but you could make a strong case that they perfected it.
‘The Cannonball Run’ (1981)
The post-credit scene featured a series of bloopers from its all-star ensemble cast, including Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett and Jackie Chan.
‘Smokey and the Bandit II’ (1980)
This wildly successful follow-up to 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit was absolutely shredded by critics, but wound up having the second-best opening weekend of all time. They also ran a blooper reel under the credits.
‘Airplane!’ (1980)
At the very beginning of the film, Robert Hays’ Ted Striker abruptly quits his taxi business, abandoning a passenger in his cab. Eighty-seven minutes later, we return to the cab, where the disgruntled passenger says he’ll give the cabbie 20 more minutes.
‘Being There’ (1979)
Peter Sellers plays a gardener who’s a few hoes short of a garden shed. He’s only experienced the world through the stories and rituals he’s picked up watching TV his whole life, and when forced to live on his own, manages to Mr. Magoo his way around Washington, D.C. The post-credit scene features bloopers from Seller’s sugar-brained performance, which appears to have started the blooper trend.
‘Hot Stuff’ (1979)
This Dom DeLuise action comedy is about a couple of frustrated cops setting up a sting operation to boost their numbers. They run into a whole parade of weirdos, all of whom are invited to a big extravagant party/sting operation at the end of the film. The post-credit scene features a bunch of the suspects getting their mugshots taken.
‘The Muppet Movie’ (1979)
This seminal addition to the musical roadtrip puppet canon ends with Sweetums busting through a projector screen, and the other Muppets freaking out while the credits roll. Finally, Animal advises the audience to “GO HOME!”
‘Meatballs’ (1979)
This goofball comedy about summer camp hijinks is what rocketed Ivan Reitman and Bill Murray to stardom. In the final scene, camp counselor Morty Melnick is pushed out into the middle of a lake, fast asleep, and spends the credits screaming for help and falling into the water.
‘Hooper’ (1978)
This action/comedy starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Adam West was a love letter to stuntmen and women — kind of a 1970’s Hot Rod. They showed stunt outtakes during the credits.
‘Martin’ (1977)
This horror film is about a young man named Martin who seems to believe he’s a vampire, but is more likely just a huge piece of shit. After murdering a whole bunch of people, Martin is finally stabbed through the heart (which, conveniently, would kill both a man and a vampire, keeping the mystery alive). The credits roll while his cousin buries his dead ass in the backyard.
‘Snoopy Come Home’ (1972)
Everybody loves Snoopy now, but this film was a flop, spending $1 million to make less than a quarter mil at the box office. Snoopy dictates the credits to Woodstock, who diligently types them out on a typewriter.
‘House of Dark Shadows’ (1970)
Barnabas Collins, a famous vampire from a TV series of the same name, is trying to find a cure for vampirism so he can marry some lady who looks like his old fiance. Barnabas is brutally stabbed with a crossbow bolt and left for dead. Or is he?! As the credits roll, his corpse turns into a bat and he flies away.
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
This classic indie horror flick is about a bunch of normies who are trapped in a rural farmhouse with a horde of flesh-eating “ghouls” (this movie popularized the zombie trope, but they didn’t get the terminology quite right yet). Ben, the final boy, emerges triumphantly when he hears other humans in the bright light of the morning — only to be mistaken for a ghoul and shot. The post-credit scene really hammers home the gut-wrenching twist, with shots of ghoul bodies on a bonfire.
‘She-Devils on Wheels” (1968)
Real-life biker ladies were cast as the all-female biker gang The Man-Eaters. It ends with their leader, Queen, being caught by a horde of cops. Or does it?!?! The post-credit scene is a bit of a Poochie moment, abruptly explaining that all charges were dropped, and showing Queen reuniting with her gang outside of the jail and riding off into the distance.
‘The Silencers’ (1966)
The first movie to have a post-credit scene! Ex-spy Matt Helm is called back into action to thwart a nuclear disaster, which he does by seducing (and nearly getting murdered by) tons of gorgeous women. The post-credit scene reads like an intermission, teasing the sequel as Helm is chilling in bed with a bunch of models: “Coming up next: Matt Helm meets Lovey Kravezit in Murderers' Row.”