What actually happens
A barber comes home to a pie shop with problems
In 1846, the barber Benjamin Barker arrives in London with a young sailor named Anthony Hope. Sixteen years earlier, the corrupt Judge Turpin had Benjamin falsely convicted and sent to Australia because the judge wanted his wife, Lucy. Benjamin takes the name Sweeney Todd and walks back into his old barber shop on Fleet Street, which sits over Nellie Lovett's failing meat pie shop. Mrs. Lovett recognizes him and tells him that after he left, Turpin raped Lucy at a masquerade ball and drove her to suicide, then made their daughter Johanna his ward. Todd vows revenge, and Mrs. Lovett, who is in love with him, hands him his old razors. Meanwhile Anthony falls for Johanna after seeing her sing at a window. A beggar woman warns him about the judge, and the Beadle beats him in the street.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
Todd needs a plan and Mrs. Lovett has a recipe
Todd publicly humiliates Adolfo Pirelli, a rival barber who also sells snake oil, at a shaving contest, but Turpin has not come to his shop yet. When Pirelli visits and threatens to expose him as the old Barker, Todd kills him and hides the body in a chest. Mrs. Lovett takes in Pirelli's assistant Toby as a son. Turpin finally arrives for a shave, but Todd is interrupted by Anthony, who blurts out that he plans to elope with Johanna. Turpin storms off and has Johanna committed to an asylum. Todd, furious, decides all of London can pay for it. Mrs. Lovett suggests baking Pirelli into a pie, and they work out a system: Todd kills customers in a barber chair that drops them to a trapdoor, and Mrs. Lovett bakes them.
Business is booming, and Toby has questions
Both businesses do well, and the customers rave about the pies without knowing what is in them. Mrs. Lovett tells Todd that she dreams of marrying him and retiring, and Todd does not seem interested. Anthony disguises himself as a wig maker so that he can rescue Johanna from the asylum and hide her at Todd's shop. Toby grows suspicious of Todd and promises Mrs. Lovett he will protect her. Then Toby finds Pirelli's purse in her possession, and she locks him in the basement with the intention of killing him.
A free shave for the judge
The Beadle comes to look into complaints about a stench from the chimney, and Todd tricks him and kills him. Toby finds a toe in a pie, then the pile of butchered bodies, and then sees the Beadle's body fall through the trapdoor. He escapes into the sewers, and Todd and Mrs. Lovett go looking for him. Anthony, meanwhile, brings Johanna disguised as a boy to the shop and leaves her there while he looks for Todd. The beggar woman walks in, recognizes Todd, and he kills her when he hears Turpin coming. Todd tells Turpin that Johanna has repented and offers him a free shave while they wait. This is the scene people brace for, and it comes near the end. Todd tells Turpin he is Benjamin Barker and cuts his throat, and Turpin goes down the trapdoor.
The ending, explained
Todd finds Johanna in the shop, does not recognize her and prepares to kill her, but Turpin, still alive in the basement, grabs Mrs. Lovett's dress and her scream distracts him. Johanna escapes. Todd goes down to finish Turpin and sees that the beggar woman is Lucy. Mrs. Lovett admits she lied about Lucy's suicide, so Todd pretends to forgive her, waltzes with her, and throws her into the oven. Toby comes out of the sewer and picks up the razor while Todd mourns Lucy. Todd lets Toby cut his throat, and he bleeds to death in the basement, holding Lucy's body. Toby walks away.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, and the dogs stay in the background.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street scary?
Yes. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 6 out of 10: a gloomy musical with very few jump scares and frequent graphic throat-cutting. The dread lasts about a night.
How does Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street end?
Todd learns that the beggar woman he killed was his wife Lucy, throws Mrs. Lovett into the oven, and lets Toby cut his throat. Johanna escapes, and Toby walks away.
Does the dog die in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street?
No dog dies in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The only dogs are in the background, and they are fine.
Is there a post-credits scene in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street?
No. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
What is in the pies in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street?
The bodies of Todd's customers. In Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Todd kills people in his barber chair, a trapdoor drops them into the basement, and Mrs. Lovett bakes them into pies.
