The Most Confusing Movies of All Time, According to Viewers

The most confusing film of all time according to moviegoers is Tenet, with the public searching for an explanation to the movie 70,000 times a month on average.I’m Thinking of Ending Things comes in second, and Shutter Island comes in third place.Christopher Nolan directs some of the most confusing films, with four of his films featuring in the top 15.

Have you ever watched a movie so confusing that it left you scratching your head, forcing you to reach for your phone to look up an explanation online? The team at jigsaw site Im-a-puzzle compiled a list of 150 films renowned for their puzzling plots and ambiguous endings, and analyzed searches for each film followed by ‘explained,’ to find out which films have us the most confused of all.

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – 4,200 searches per month

Despite being released nearly 55 years ago, Stanley Kubrick’s interstellar cult classic has continued to baffle audiences since its release, with audiences searching for an explanation of the film’s plot 4,200 times a month on average. The lesser acclaimed sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact should help viewers clear up some confusion around that obscure psychedelic ending.

14. Inception (2010) – 4,500 searches per month

The first of Christopher Nolan’s films to feature in the top 15, Inception sees viewers searching for an explanation to the film 4,500 times a month on average. The movie’s ambiguous ending, which concluded with a shot of Cobb’s spinning totem before cutting to black, has continued to leave audiences questioning the authenticity of our protagonist’s reality 12 years after its release.

13. Memento (2000) – 4,600 searches per month

Ranking just ahead of Inception, Nolan’s second directorial feature follows a man with anterograde amnesia, as he tries to piece together information about the murder of his wife through self-inflicted tattoos and polaroid photographs. An explanation of the film’s plot racks up 4,600 searches a month, likely due to its non-linear storyline, which cuts between a chronological and reverse narrative of our main character.

12. The Matrix (1999) – 5,200 searches per month

A movie that has become such a household name, it is synonymous with describing anything that indicates we are living in a simulation. The mind-bending classic directed by sisters, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, continues to have audiences looking for an explanation of the film’s premise more than 20 years after its release, with 5,200 searches every month on average.

11. Predestination (2014) – 5,900 searches per month

Directed by the Spierig twins, Predestination sees Ethan Hawke star as a temporal agent who travels back in time to prevent a criminal from detonating a bomb in the present. The film’s convoluted plot involves its protagonist unknowingly facing off with versions of himself from multiple timelines in this time travel paradox. Understandably, Predestination stacks up 5,900 searches a month for an explanation of its plot.

10. Fight Club (1999) – 5,900 searches per month

The controversial classic from acclaimed director David Fincher takes a surprising tenth place on the list, also receiving 5,900 searches a month. While the twist in the third act of the film may contribute to the confusion for some, a second viewing may help to clarify any questions viewers might have regarding who Tyler Durden is and what he is supposed to represent.

9. Arrival (2016) – 6,000 searches per month

The sci-fi drama, which stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, receives 6,000 searches a month taking it to ninth place in the list. The plot centers around Louise Banks, a linguist enlisted to communicate with aliens who have arrived on Earth. Upon assimilating the alien language, Bank’s perception of time is altered in a way that allows her to see into the future, a concept that appears to have left many viewers wondering how this could even be possible.

8. The Shining (1980) – 6,300 searches per month

The second Kubrick classic to make the list, The Shining racks up 6,300 searches a month from viewers looking for an explanation to the film. Many viewers were likely left wondering about the significance of the final shot, which pans to a photograph on the hotel wall featuring Jack at the center of a 1921 party, which has posited several interpretations, including that he has been absorbed into the Overlook Hotel.

7. Nocturnal Animals (2016) – 6,600 searches per month

Written, directed and produced by fashion designer Tom Ford, the neo-noir psychological thriller Nocturnal Animals generates 6,600 searches from audiences trying to unpick the meaning of the film. The film sees Jake Gyllenhall play both former husband and fictional novel protagonist, as Amy Adams reels from her crumbling marriage hoping to rekindle their relationship.

6. Interstellar (2014) – 7,100 searches per month

The third of Nolan’s films to appear on the list, Interstellar has audiences searching for an explanation to the movie 7,100 times a month on average. The film, which relies on heavy theoretical scientific concepts to make sense of its space travel plot points, has an extensive run time of 2 hours 49 minutes which likely contributes to many wondering how it all fits together.

5. Mulholland Drive (2001) – 9,700 searches per month

Starting out the top five is David Lynch’s surrealist mystery thriller which has audiences searching 9,700 times a month for an explanation to the film’s meaning. The film follows the story of Betty, who befriends a woman with amnesia following a car crash. The film was originally pitched as a TV pilot, which was rejected by executives, and Lynch later created an ending to create the feature. The stylized look of the movie as well as lack of explanation around the narrative by the director leaves Mulholland Drive largely open to interpretation by its audience.

4. Donnie Darko (2001) – 18,000 searches per month

Richard Kelly’s psychological thriller takes the fourth spot, with 18,000 searches every month for an explanation to the film’s story. A baby-faced Jake Gyllenhaal leads as troubled titular character Donnie, who has visions of a figure donning a rabbit costume telling him that the world will end in 28 days. The movie which concludes with sci-fi elements such as a time travel vortex influencing preceding events, makes for a confusing initial viewing that seems to require some explanation or a second binge for many.

3. Shutter Island (2010) – 31,000 searches per month

Taking the third spot is Scorsese’s Shutter Island which receives 31,000 searches per month as people look for an explanation to the plot. The story follows U.S Marshall Teddy Daniels as he investigates the disappearance of a patient from a psychiatric facility, only to uncover a series of strange goings on among the island’s residents. The film, which has its audience second guessing who they can trust throughout, ends with a climactic twist that seems to have people struggling to separate the good guys from the bad guys.

2. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) – 50,000 searches per month

Charlie Kaufman’s psychological thriller seals second place, with viewers searching for an explanation to this film 50,000 times a month on average. This Netflix original intertwines the story of a couple visiting their parents farm, with shots of an elderly janitor working in a high school before joining these narratives together for some abstract visual storytelling that is never quite explained to the viewer.

1. Tenet (2020) – 70,000 searches per month

The last of Nolan’s films to feature in the list, Tenet takes the top spot as the most confusing movie of all time according to viewers, who search for an explanation to the film 70,000 times a month on average. The time twisting thriller received a mixed reception from audiences during its release two years ago, sparking divide in part due to its audio mixing and convoluted story, that left many wondering what the characters were saying and what the film was all about.

The study was conducted by Im-a-puzzle, where users can play thousands of online jigsaw puzzles for free, with picture puzzles and games of all types – from animals to bridges to landscapes and more.

The Most Confusing Films of All Time Ranked

Rank	Movie	Searches Per Month for Movie Explanation	Director(s)
1.	Tenet (2020)	70,000	Christopher Nolan
2.	I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)	50,000	Charlie Kaufman
3.	Shutter Island (2010)	31,000	Martin Scorsese
4.	Donnie Darko (2001)	18,000	Richard Kelly
5.	Mulholland Drive (2001)	9,700	David Lynch
6.	Interstellar (2014)	7,100	Christopher Nolan
7.	Nocturnal Animals (2016)	6,600	Tom Ford
8.	The Shining (1980)	6,300	Stanley Kubrick
9.	Arrival (2016)	6,000	Denis Villeneuve
10.	Fight Club (1999)	5,900	David Fincher
11.	Predestination (2014)	5,900	Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
12.	The Matrix (1999)	5,200	Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
13.	Memento (2000)	4,600	Christopher Nolan
14.	Inception (2010)	4,500	Christopher Nolan
15.	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)	4,200	Stanley Kubrick
16.	The Prestige (2006)	4,100	Christopher Nolan
17.	Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion (1997)	3,800	Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
18.	Vanilla Sky (2001)	3,600	Cameron Crowe
19.	No Country for Old Men (2007)	3,500	Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
20.	Eyes Wide Shut (1999)	2,900	Stanley Kubrick

Further information can be found at https://www.im-a-puzzle