© 2026 ABC News

It was an ending that started a craze of imitations with their own surprise twists.

Toni Collette's character hires child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe, played by Bruce Willis, to assess her troubled son, Cole, played by a then-10-year-old Haley Joel Osment, who's being haunted by visions of the deceased.

Crowe helps Cole learn not to be afraid of the dead people he sees but. of course, it's later revealed that Willis' character is one of those dead people, too.

20 years ago today (August 6th 1999) saw the American cinema release for The Sixth Sense . @HaleyJoelOsment pic.twitter.com/RZPAef6wD2

— Horror Seen (@HorrorSeen) August 6, 2019

\"The Sixth Sense\" earned six Oscar nominations, including best supporting actress for Collette and best supporting actor for young Osment, as well as best picture, best director and best screenplay nominations for Shyamalan. It's since become a supernatural movie classic.

Shyamalan went on to write and direct the 2000 hit \"Unbreakable,\" again starring Bruce Willis and with Samuel L. Jackson. A series of high-profile box office misfires followed until Shyamalan got back to his more modestly budgeted thriller roots with 2017's \"Split,\" starring James McAvoy, with a twist ending that revealed to be a sequel to \"Unbreakable.\" The trilogy was completed with the 2018 hit \"Glass,\" which united Willis, Jackson and McAvoy.

Shyamalan's next film is rumored to be the drama \"Labor of Love,\" about a widower, possibly played by Willis, who walks across the country to demonstrate his love for his late wife. So far, there's no announced release date.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/dead-people-sixth-sense-turns-20/story?id=64801474","legacySlug":"/culture/story/dead-people-sixth-sense-turns-20-64801474","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:52","publishDate":"08-06-2019","updatedTime":"16:46","updatedDate":"04-06-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Haley Joel Osment And Bruce Willis star in the 1999 film, \"The Sixth Sense.\"","credit":"Buena Vista Pictures via Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/sixth-sense-gty-jc-190806_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/6/2019 14:52:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":64801474,"headline":"How 'The Sixth Sense' started a movie empire","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA THE SIXTH SENSE","description":"A look back on the game-changing film's 20th anniversary.","duration":"4:32","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/130213_gma_willis_0843_,1200,1600,2000,2500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132055565","131830882","130993584"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 8, 2026","headline":"Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","section":"News","slug":"/video/131830882","id":"131830882","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"March 12, 2026","headline":"Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","section":"News","slug":"/video/130993584","id":"130993584","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"How 'The Sixth Sense' started a movie empire","description":"A look back on the game-changing film's 20th anniversary.","duration":"4:32","uploadDate":"08-06-2019","publication":"08-06-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/130213_gma_willis_0843_,1200,1600,2000,2500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/130213_gma_willis_0843_,1200,1600,2000,2500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/dead-people-sixth-sense-turns-20-64801474"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"How 'The Sixth Sense' started a movie empire","pubTime":"10:52","pubDate":"08-06-2019","modTime":"12:46","modDate":"04-06-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":64801474,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"How 'The Sixth Sense' started a movie empire","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA THE SIXTH SENSE","videoId":64801474,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/dead-people-sixth-sense-turns-20-64801474"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/64801474","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/64801474","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};