"The Notebook" (2004) runs 124 minutes in its theatrical cut, according to The Numbers' runtime listing, which also records its PG-13 rating. The film closes with its final scene rolling straight into the credits, and no version adds footage after them. That 124-minute figure holds across multiple official sources, though one archival catalog lists it a minute shorter. Beyond runtime, the film's history includes a documented bonus-features disc and a streaming controversy over an altered ending — both worth knowing before choosing which version to watch.
Table of Contents
- How Long Is "The Notebook"?
- Is There an End-Credits Scene?
- What's on the DVD Release?
- Did Netflix Change the Ending?
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Is "The Notebook"?
The theatrical running time is 124 minutes, confirmed by The Numbers alongside the film's PG-13 rating. This figure matches the film's original U.S. theatrical release and is the number most commonly cited for the movie. International classification boards back up the same length. The British Board of Film Classification lists the UK release at 124 minutes, certified 12A, with a theatrical release date of June 25, 2004.
New Zealand's Classification Office gives the identical 124-minute figure for its own rating record. One source breaks from this consensus. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films records the film's duration as 123 minutes — one minute shorter than the figure used by box-office databases and ratings boards. The discrepancy likely comes down to how each archive measures runtime (with or without the distributor's own credits timing), rather than a different cut of the film. For practical purposes, 124 minutes is the number to use.
Is There an End-Credits Scene?
No release of "The Notebook" includes a scene after its end credits. The film's ending plays out as its final dramatic beat, and the credits begin immediately afterward with nothing inserted later, as confirmed by a plot and ending summary of the film.
This matters because the movie's structure — a present-day storyline revealed to connect to the central romance — can make viewers expect one more twist once the credits start. There isn't one. Viewers looking for a bonus scene, as some films include, won't find it here in any theatrical or home-video release.
What's on the DVD Release?
The 2005 DVD release packages roughly 12 deleted or alternate scenes as a separate bonus feature, running about 28 minutes in total, according to a Virginia Law Library catalog record of the disc. These scenes include an optional audio commentary track from director Nick Cassavetes.
Because this bonus material is kept separate from the main feature, it does not change the film's 124-minute theatrical runtime. A viewer watching the DVD's main feature sees the same length as the theatrical cut; the deleted scenes are an additional, selectable extra rather than a longer edit of the movie itself. Anyone hunting for an "extended cut" of "The Notebook" won't find one — what exists is the standard feature plus this separate deleted-scenes reel.
Did Netflix Change the Ending?
In February 2019, SlashFilm reported that Netflix UK was streaming a version of "The Notebook" with a different final shot. Instead of ending on the couple's death-bed scene, that version closed on a shot of birds flying over a lake, prompting complaints from viewers who noticed the change. Netflix told SlashFilm it had not deliberately re-edited the film, leaving the cause of the altered print unexplained.
Author Nicholas Sparks, whose novel the film is based on, addressed the controversy on NBC's Today show, confirming viewers' reports of the different cut without disputing that an alternate version existed. This incident is isolated to one streaming platform's library in one region at one point in time. It doesn't indicate that "The Notebook" has an officially recognized "alternate ending" sold or marketed as such; it reflects a licensing or print discrepancy that surfaced on a single service.
- If you're watching on Netflix UK or a similar international stream: the version available may vary by region and by the source print the platform licensed.
- If you want the ending as originally released: a US DVD, Blu-ray, or a US-based streaming purchase is the safer bet for matching the theatrical cut.
- The runtime difference between the two endings would be negligible — this is a swapped final shot, not a shortened or lengthened film.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the AFI's 123-minute listing mean there's a shorter cut of the film?
No distributed cut runs 123 minutes; the AFI Catalog figure differs from ratings-board and box-office sources by a single minute, most likely a measurement difference rather than a separate edit.
Are the deleted scenes on the DVD worth watching?
They total about 28 minutes with a director's commentary, according to the DVD's catalog listing, and are presented as a separate extra rather than part of the main 124-minute feature.