People.com Entertainment Movies 'Fight Club' Gets a Different Ending — with Law Enforcement Winning — in China for Online Release "The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals," a title card reads on the alternate ending of Fight Club By Jen Juneau Jen Juneau Twitter Jen Juneau is a digital news writer for PEOPLE. A '90s teen and horror film connoisseur, she started at the brand in 2016, after a decade of working as a technical writer and then moonlighting as a journalist beginning in 2013. Originally from New Orleans, Jen grew up both in NOLA and Florida and eventually attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando (still her home base!), where she earned a bachelor's in English/technical communication, with a minor in magazine journalism. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 26, 2022 03:26 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in Fight Club (1999). Photo: 20th Century Fox Film Corp/ Everett Over 20 years after its release, Fight Club's strict rules are not extending to keeping its original ending internationally. The 1999 cult classic — starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter — has a completely different ending for its online release in China, with the police coming out victorious, multiple outlets report, including Variety. Reads a title card at the end of the film, streaming via Tencent Video, "The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding," per Variety. "After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum [sic] receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012," the card concludes. Reps for Disney (the company that owns 20th Century Studios — formerly 20th Century Fox, the film's distribution company) and Tencent Video did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Brad Pitt in Fight Club (1999). Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock Don't Look Up Director Recalls "Constantly Tweaking" Movie's Ending: "Did We Go Too Far?" Released in 1999, Fight Club (based on the book of the same name, by Chuck Palahniuk) tells the story of a "Narrator," played by Norton, 52, while Pitt's Tyler Durden is a mental projection of him. Bonham Carter, 55, plays Durden's (and, in turn, the Narrator's) love interest, Marla Singer. In the original ending, the Narrator "kills" his alter ego Tyler by gunshot through his own mouth, before he and Marla stand and watch buildings explode around them. The film (and novel) have been widely discussed and debated over its themes and messages of anarchy and capitalism. RELATED VIDEO: Rogue One Alternate Ending Revealed: A Lifesaving Escape The initial negative reception to the Fincher–directed film came as a surprise at the time to Pitt, 58, who said in 2020 that he recalled seeing audience members "just slowly get up from their seats and no one is talking and they kind of disappear from the screening." He added during his interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, "I remember looking at Fincher and being like, 'Oh my God, what the f— did we do? What happened?' I thought that s— was great." Later that same month, Pitt joked during his Maltin Modern Master Award acceptance speech, "I no longer remember the first rule of Fight Club," referencing the famous line from the movie. During the SAG Awards that month, Pitt reunited with Carter. In a photo of the sweet moment, the former costars were all smiles as they chatted and embraced each other in a friendly hug during the ceremony in Los Angeles.