Jackpot Ending Explained (2024)

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from Jackpot! on Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon's Jackpot! jumps ahead to 2030 Los Angeles, where the state has enacted the California Grand Lottery and allows losers to kill the jackpot winner and acquire their earnings. Unfortunately for Awkwafina's Katie Kim, she is the latest lottery champ. Katie is on the run from angry mobs throughout the action comedy, directed by Paul Feig and written by Rob Yescombe. Meanwhile, John Cena's Noel Cassidy tries to help her every step of the way as an amateur lottery protection agent. Together, Katie and Noel find themselves in a lot of trouble, but it all works out in the end (of course).

The California Grand Lottery was established during the Great Depression of 2026 as everyone was in need of money. It's unclear how the government decided that creating a lottery that made murder legal was a good idea. Nevertheless, Katie was previously unaware of the killer lottery, meaning that she is in dire need of help to survive until sundown — enter Noel. Cena's memorable role has a pure heart and good intentions for protecting Katie. Thankfully, Katie and Noel are able to hold off crazed mobs, strange Airbnb hosts, and an evil protection agency to make it to the end of Jackpot!

How Katie Survives In Jackpot's Ending

Katie Makes It To Sundown

Given that the Amazon movie is an action comedy, it isn't surprising that Katie and Noel survive Jackpot! However, the journey to get there is quite intense and includes a handful of close calls. After learning that Louis Lewis, played by Simu Liu in the cast of Jackpot!, wants to kill Katie and obtain her $3.6 billion check, Katie and Noel split up. The Lewis Protection Company asks for 30 percent of the jackpot in exchange for protecting the winner, but in reality, they just kill them and take the entire sum for themselves.

Right before Katie is about to leave the city, effectively quitting and giving up her winnings, she gets a call from Louis, who threatens to kill Noel if she doesn't turn around. Louis leads Katie to a theater, where the final showdown between Katie and Louis (and eventually everyone else trying to kill her) transpires. While the clock is ticking down, Katie and Noel fight off hundreds of people, and Katie climbs up a set piece to the rafters to evade her attackers (which includes Shadi, her Airbnb host, and Irene, a woman who previously stole her watch).

Louis gets to Katie and is about to kill her when Katie pulls the safety pin out of one of the grenades in his pocket. He blows up while Katie, assumingly, begins falling to her death. However, a group of people rooting for Katie's success catch her with a large sheet just as the clock reaches zero. As a result, Katie becomes a multi-billionaire at the end of Amazon Prime Video's new comedy movie Jackpot!, with Johnny Grand himself handing her a check for $3.6 billion.

Why Noel Wants To Help Katie Instead Of Taking Her Money For Himself

Noel Never Has An Ulterior Motive For Helping Katie

Throughout Paul Feig's 2024 action comedy Jackpot!, Katie finds it hard to trust Noel, which is understandable given her past and the fact that most people are trying to kill her. Katie's father took the money she made from the Spaghetti Squares commercials as a kid and ran. So, Noel has to put in a lot of work to make Katie trust him in Jackpot!, and she eventually does. Noel truly has the best intentions for wanting to help Katie (aside from the 10 percent commission he is promised). As John Cena's character tells Katie, he is a Hufflepuff, after all.

Noel, as an amateur lottery protection agent, has helped many lottery winners survive in the past. He doesn't want to take the money all for himself because he's simply a good person. However, Noel's regrets from his past as a mercenary also drive him to help others. In the end, Noel gives his 10 percent commission to the families of men he previously served with who died. So, that's why Noel is determined to protect Katie in Jackpot! on Amazon Prime Video.

Noel & Louis' Past Explained

Noel & Louis Were Mercenaries Together

See Also

Katie Noel: Wiki, Bio, Age, Height, Songs, Girlfriend, Net Worth

Aside from working as lottery protection agents, Noel and Louis share another thing in common in Jackpot! — they were in the same unit as mercenaries many years ago. However, Noel started learning more about the people they were killing and the truth behind their missions. Consequently, he left the unit, while Louis couldn't care less about morals or integrity.

After Noel quit, everyone in the unit died except for Louis during a mission, which is why Noel carries so much guilt and gives all his earnings to his former team's families. In a surprising turn of events, though, Noel learns that Louis killed their team and took the money from the mission for himself in the 2024 Amazon Prime Video movie.

Why Katie No Longer Wants To Be An Actress

Katie Moved To Los Angeles To Pursue An Acting Career

At the beginning of John Cena's poorly-rated comedy movie, Katie moves to Los Angeles in an attempt to return to acting. She previously starred in commercials as a child, and after her mother died, Katie decides to live out her mother's dream for her by pursuing an acting career. However, by the end of Jackpot!, Katie no longer wants to be an actress. For starters, she has acquired $3.6 billion and doesn't need the money. Katie also tells Noel, "What's the point? Wrestlers and YouTubers are movie stars now," which is certainly meant to be a playful jab at John Cena.

What Katie Does With Her $3.6 Billion Jackpot

Katie & Noel Open Free 4 All Protection Agency

Katie (and Noel, who she gives 50 percent of her lottery winnings) primarily use the $3.6 billion to help others. However, they also indulge themselves a little bit in Jackpot!, as there is plenty of money to go around. Katie and Noel open Free 4 All Protection Agency (helping jackpot winners survive for free), the Kim-Cassidy School of Self-Defense and Stage Fighting, the Katie Kim Center for Kids with Sh*tty Parents, and Noel-A-Bunga, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed pizza restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant gets shut down for copyright infringement, but at least Katie and Noel still have their superyacht.

The Real Meaning Of Jackpot's Ending

Katie & Noel's Relationship Is The Most Important Part Of Jackpot

Of course, Jackpot! is a comedy meant to entertain people and make them laugh, which it certainly does. However, the most significant aspect of the Amazon Prime Video film is the bond that Katie and Noel form while running for their lives. Awkwafina and John Cena's chemistry plays a big part in developing this connection, which Katie admits is the best relationship in her life, despite only knowing one another for a few hours. Katie and Noel bond over their traumatic pasts throughout the movie and form a strong friendship that is the story's backbone, proved by Jackpot!'s ending.

Jackpot! (2024)

R

Comedy

Action

In a near-future California, the state introduces a high-stakes "Grand Lottery" with a deadly twist: to claim the prize, the winner must survive until sundown without being killed by other participants. The action-comedy follows Katie, a recent Los Angeles transplant played by Awkwafina, who finds herself with a winning ticket.

Director

Paul Feig

Release Date

August 15, 2024

Studio(s)

Amazon MGM Studios

Writers

Rob Yescombe

Cast

John Cena , Awkwafina , Simu Liu , Seann William Scott , Marian Green , David Conk , Josh Diogo , Rosanna Scotto

Runtime

104 Minutes