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Closing credits (also end credits or end titles) are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, television film or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at the very end of a work. A full set of credits can include not only the cast and crew, but also production sponsors, distribution companies, works of music licensed or written for the work, various legal disclaimers, such as copyright, and more.
Description
editAppearance
editTypically, the closing credits appear in white lettering on a solid black background, often with a musical background.[2] Credits are either a series of static frames, or a single list that scrolls from the bottom of the screen to the top.[3][4] Occasionally closing credits will divert from this standard form to scroll in another direction, include illustrations, extra scenes,[5] bloopers, joke credits, "wrap-up" songs[6][7] and post-credits scenes.[2][8]
History
editThe use of closing credits in film to list complete production crew and the cast was not firmly established in American film until the late 1960s and early 1970s. Films generally had opening credits only, which consisted of just major cast and crew, although sometimes the names of the cast and the characters they played would be shown at the end.[9]
Two of the first major films to contain extensive closing credits – but almost no opening credits – were the blockbusters Around the World in 80 Days (1956)[10] and West Side Story (1961).[11] While some television program closing credits can last 20 seconds only,[12] for important film features, the length of extensive ending credits is typically several minutes[13], (5-10 in average).[14] In 2003, for example,The Return of the King had end credits running for nine and a half minutes.[15]
A number of more recent cinematic productions have been described as "making film credits into art".[16]
See also
edit- Acknowledgment – Expression of gratitude for assistance in creating a work
- All persons fictitious disclaimer – Tort law concept
- Billing – Performing arts term
- Character generator – Device for adding text and graphics to a video stream
- Credit – Expression of gratitude for assistance in creating a work
- Digital on-screen graphic – Television station logo used as a watermark
- Lower third – Graphic overlay in lower area of TV screen
- Opening credits – Display of names
- Post-credits scene – Short sequence that appears after all or part of the final credits
- Production babies – Children born to people working on a film
- Title sequence – Introductory sequence in films and television
- WGA screenwriting credit system – Credit system for motion pictures and TV programs in the US
References
edit- ↑ "CLOSING CREDITS". Cambridge dictionary.
- 1 2 Gehlawat, Ajay (2020-05-21), "The picture is not yet over!: The end credits song sequence in Bollywood", The Evolution of Song and Dance in Hindi Cinema, Routledge, pp. 105–118, ISBN 978-0-429-32056-9, retrieved 2026-06-12
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ↑ DiGiambattista, Nicole. Rolling Out the Interactive Credits: Evolving the Ending Credits into an Interactive Audience Experience. Diss. Drexel University, 2012.
- ↑ Page, Justin (2017-01-05). "Some of the Best Closing Title Sequences in Movies". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ Davison, Annette. "The end is nigh: Music postfaces and end-credit sequences in contemporary television serials." Music, Sound, and the Moving Image 8.2 (2014): 195-215
- ↑ Hamilton, Jack (2019-06-14). "A Brief History of the Movie-Summarizing End-Credits Rap". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ "10 Essential Closing Credit Songs in Films". Treble. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ Kolchina, T. F., et al. "Post-credit scene as a component of the final credits in a modern film text." Международный научно-исследовательский журнал 11-2 (65) (2017): 25-29
- ↑ Nguyen, Janet. "When did movie credits get so long?". www.marketplace.org. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ "notcoming.com | Around the World in 80 Days: The End Credits". www.notcoming.com. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ "notcoming.com | West Side Story: the End Credits". www.notcoming.com. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ https://www.abc.net.au/tv/independent/doc/ABC_Commissioned_Productions_Credit_Guidelines_2014.pdf
- ↑ LaSalle, Mick (2025-10-27). "End credits are ruining great movies. Here's why". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ Murphy, Mekado (2017-05-26). "Waiting for the Credits to End? Movies Are Naming More Names". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ "Hollywood's lengthening film credits". 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
- ↑ Cunningham, Jake (2018-04-25). "Fade to black? How film directors are making end credits into art". The i Paper. Retrieved 2026-06-12.