Greenland 2: Migration Ending Explained — How Gerard Butler’s John Garrity Changes Everything With One Final Choice

Spoiler alert for Greenland 2: Migration. If you were expecting another turn-your-brain-off Gerard Butler romp, this one is not that. Like the first Greenland, the sequel plays it straight, leans into the dread, and then ends with a swing you probably were not betting on.

Where we pick up

It has been about five years since the comet wiped out, well, almost everything. Think The Last of Us mood, just without fungal zombies. John and Allison Garrity and their son Nathan are trekking across a shredded Europe, chasing a rumor: somewhere in France, a giant impact crater supposedly has pockets of air you can actually breathe and just enough stability to restart a community. That is the dream, anyway.

The ending everyone will be talking about

In the final stretch, John does the unthinkable and sacrifices himself so Allison and Nathan can make it into that so-called safe zone. Killing off the franchise anchor is a gutsy move and easily the most emotional beat the movie has. But it does not close the book.

Does this set up a third movie?

Kind of. The family reaches the haven, but the film teases that the place may not stay untouched for long, with the threat of insurgent soldiers looming. Producer Sebastien Raybaud has already hinted that a follow-up is on the table, even with that ending hanging over it.

We are thinking about what could happen afterwards. There is something that happens in 2 that could be tricky, but I am sure we can find a way.

Translation: they know offing Butler complicates things, but they are not ready to walk away. A third film could pivot to new faces surviving in the same world instead of sticking strictly to the Garritys. That would be a big identity shift for a franchise that has leaned on Butler as its bull-headed compass.

The money problem (aka the part the accountants care about)

Here is the behind-the-scenes math that matters for any threequel talk:

• Greenland (2020) cost about $35 million and became a pandemic-era hit on digital and streaming.
• Greenland 2: Migration reportedly cost around $90 million, more than double the first.
• Rule of thumb: to break even theatrically, you generally want 2 to 2.5 times the budget in grosses.
• Early projections have Migration opening softly in the $8–$10 million range while Avatar 3 stays on top of the box office heap.
• That likely means thin theatrical profits, but Butler movies often overperform on VOD and streaming.
• One wrinkle: if Butler is no longer front and center, those at-home numbers might not be the same layup they usually are.

Director Ric Roman Waugh will have to thread a very specific needle if a third movie gets the nod: keep the world compelling without its longtime lead and still make the economics work.

Have you seen Greenland 2: Migration? Did that ending land for you or feel like a stunt? Drop your take below. The movie is now playing in theaters across the U.S.