Animals were harmed in these films
Oil driller turned astronaut Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) dies while destroying an asteroid that threatens to collide with Earth.
Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller in Steven Spielberg's war movie. Captain Miller dies while on a mission to save Private Ryan (Matt Damon).
The ending has Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) saying goodbye to Rose (Kate Winslet) in a very emotional scene. Jack sadly doesn't make it.
Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) communicates with spirits. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) tries to help him. It takes a while for Crowe to realize he's actually dead.
Cuban criminal turned drug lord Tony Montana (Al Pacino) sees his Miami cocaine empire crumble, and dies in the end.
Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) drive off a cliff, in one of the most iconic endings in cinematic history.
Another heart-wrenching movie where we really don't want the protagonist to die, but sadly Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) doesn't survive her boxing injuries.
This one doesn't quite come as a surprise, but it's nonetheless sad when Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) passes away from complications related to AIDS.
Roman general turned gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) dies and joins his family in the afterlife.
We don't really see this one coming, but Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is fatally shot by Tooper Brown (Anthony Anderson).
If you're familiar with the Shakespeare story, this won't really come as a surprise. Both Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) die.
In this movie we see Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) aging backwards; he starts as an old man and ends up as a baby, and dies.
Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) are caught by the cops and shot to death. Again, not a surprise.
Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) gets rid of all his possessions, abandons his comfortable lifestyle, and moves to the wilderness of Alaska. He doesn't survive in the end.
Freedom fighter V (Hugo Weaving) might have died in the movie, but his legacy lives on, with many people donning his mask in the real world.
Police officer Scott Turner (Tom Hanks) makes it, but his dog, Hooch, gets shot and sadly doesn't survive.
Dancer Satine (Nicole Kidman) dies of tuberculosis. We know she's ill since the beginning of the movie, but it's still heartbreaking.
Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) is another protagonist who dies. He's killed by George (Jason Clarke), a man whose wife Gatsby killed.
Tormented teenager Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) dies crushed by an airplane engine.
After going on a murderous rampage, Jack (Jack Nicholson) eventually ends up freezing to death outdoors.
Transgender man Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) is eventually shot and dies in front of his lover, after enduring prejudice in Nebraska. The film was based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena.
Former mobster Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) wants a quiet life after he leaves prison, but he finds he can't escape his past.
Screenwriter Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death, and this is exactly what happens.
We all know the classic scene where Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is attacked in the shower.
The finale is just a huge bloodbath for the whole gang. Barely anyone seems to make it at the end of this Quentin Tarantino film.
Mel Gibson's epic about the Scottish hero William Wallace is filled with tragedy, including his own gruesome death.
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) returns to his family after a long time away, claiming to have terminal cancer. This was a lie, but then he surprisingly dies of a heart attack.
Former CIA agent turned bodyguard John Creasy (Denzel Washington) dies while trying to save nine-year-old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning).
Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) ends up being burned alive as part of a pagan sacrifice.
Sources: (IMDb) (GamesRadar+)
Movies where the protagonist dies
Spoiler alert: The main characters don't always survive
MOVIES Film
We love it when our protagonist lives happily ever after, but sometimes that's just not how life pans out, including on the big screen. Some live, while others die. From epic heroic deaths to tragic, heart-wrenching final moments, in this gallery you'll find movies where the death of the protagonist is key to the narrative. It goes without saying that spoilers are included!