More from Pride & Prejudice (2005) film director Joe Wright talking about the two endings for P&P movie.
Joe Wright: The original film has actually two endings: One version that was for America and one version that was for everyone else…I didn’t have final cut on the movie at the time, and after much debate, it was a kind of compromise solution. The American version had a final scene of Darcy and Elizabeth on their wedding night, speaking posies to each other, and I felt it was a little too sweet and sentimental. I much preferred the ending that ended on Mr. Bennett and his joy at his daughter’s betrothal. So there are two endings out there.
Here’s the actual reason why there were two endings for Pride & Prejudice 2005 film...
From UK’s Times Online: Why new Pride & Prejudice (2005) film is abridged in Britain...executives at Working Title, the British film production company, cringed at the ending to their adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and decided to lop it off. The change came about after executives watched a screening of the longer film in America. David Livingstone, vice-president of Universal marketing and distribution, said that the American audience loved it but the British executives had reservations. “There was a moment when somebody said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if it ended with Donald Sutherland?’,” he told The Times. The extra scene was kept for the Americans, as well as some Asian territories that prefer emotion to be “laid on quite thickly”, Mr. Livingstone added.
Throwback when Pride & Prejudice2005 film’s 𝓜𝓻𝓼. 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓬𝔂 {American} ending scene made the list of Entertainment Weekly’s 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝟐𝟏 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞
𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 & 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐄 (𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟓)
𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞 (𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲) 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐫. 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲 (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐲𝐞𝐧). 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭: 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲, ''𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲'': 𝐌𝐫𝐬. 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲. —𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐘𝐮
Also, via Screen Rant: Our Take On Pride & Prejudice's Alternate Ending
Both Versions Work
The US version's added scene has faced a lot of criticism, with some complaining that the scene unintentionally sexualized Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. However, it provides more closure to their story and offers a little bit more of the couple for those who are invested in their love story.
The UK version puts the emphasis on Elizabeth's moving speech and Mr. Bennet's joyful reaction. Both actors are excellent in the scene, which makes it a very appealing ending for Pride & Prejudice compared to Darcy and Elizabeth's kiss, which seems a little redundant since it's clear that they'll be together. Despite the debate, both endings work, depending on the mood.