In a recent article about going back to watching films in theaters, the author referred to people like me as ‘bitter enders’.
As you would have noticed, in the theater as soon as it is clear that a film has ended most of the people get up and head for the exits. There are a few, and I am one, who are bitter-enders who sit tight and watch the all the way through to the last credits until the projectionist turns off the machine and the lights come on. Films have increasingly large numbers of people involved and waiting for the list to end can take a few minutes. This apparently annoys some people who have to squeeze past people like me to leave.
Why do I do this? One reason is that I like to know who played the various roles, especially the minor ones. While it is true that I can always look it up later, I usually am most curious at that moment. But why do I stay after those have scrolled past? Am I really interested in who was the Best Boy or the Gaffer for the film? The answer is not really, but sometimes I like the music that is playing and sometimes there are clips that play alongside the credits and sometimes there is even a small coda scene at the very end. In the film V for Vendetta, the closing credits were accompanied by Street Fighting Man by the Rolling Stones. Why would anyone leave during that? But the main reason I stay until the end is that there is a satisfying sense of closure that comes when I feel that the film has well and truly ended and I am sure that I am not missing anything.
Clearly the streaming services feel that the credits is a dead time where they lose audiences because they cue the next item as soon as the credits begin. I have to act very quickly to select the option to watch the credits.
When I go for films with friends and family, some of them are the quick exiters and forget that I am a bitter-ender and get up immediately to leave and when they realize that I remain firmly seated, they of course resignedly sit down again.
So be warned. If you ever go to see a film with me, I will not be leaving until the lights come on.