La película terminó a medianoche.

Película is a feminine singular noun, so it often takes the definite article la when you mean the film/movie.

• la película = the movie
• una película = a movie

In this sentence, it refers to a specific movie, so la is used.

The accent mark in película shows where the stress goes: pe-LÍ-cu-la.

Without the accent, Spanish stress rules would make you pronounce it differently. Accent marks are important in Spanish because they can tell you both pronunciation and, in some cases, meaning.

Terminó is the preterite tense, third person singular, from the verb terminar.

So:

• terminar = to end / to finish
• terminó = it ended / he ended / she ended

Here it means the movie ended, so it ended.

Terminó is preterite, which is used for a completed action at a specific time.

• La película terminó a medianoche = the movie ended at midnight
  → a finished event

Terminaba is imperfect, which usually describes ongoing, repeated, or background actions.

• La película terminaba a medianoche might suggest something like the movie was ending at midnight or used to end at midnight, depending on context.

Because this sentence describes one completed event, terminó is the natural choice.

The accent mark distinguishes terminó from termino.

• terminó = he/she/it ended (preterite)
• termino = I end (present)

So the accent is not optional here; it changes the form and meaning.

In Spanish, specific clock times and certain time expressions usually use a.

• a las tres = at three o’clock
• a medianoche = at midnight
• al mediodía = at midday/noon

So a medianoche is the normal way to say at midnight.

After a, Spanish normally says a medianoche without the article in this expression.

So:

• a medianoche = at midnight

You may see la medianoche in other contexts, where midnight is the subject or object:

• La medianoche es muy silenciosa = Midnight is very quiet.

But in this time expression, a medianoche is the standard form.

Yes. Terminar is a very common verb and can often translate as either to end or to finish, depending on context.

For example:

• La película terminó = The movie ended
• Terminé mi tarea = I finished my homework

In this sentence, ended sounds most natural in English because the subject is the movie.

This is the most neutral and natural Spanish word order:

subject + verb + time expression

• La película = subject
• terminó = verb
• a medianoche = time expression

Spanish word order is flexible, but this version is the standard, straightforward way to say it.

It is possible, but it usually sounds less neutral and may suggest a different emphasis.

• La película terminó a medianoche = neutral, standard statement
• Terminó la película a medianoche = more marked, with focus on the action or a more narrative style

For a learner, the original sentence is the safest and most natural choice.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

lah peh-LEE-koo-lah tehr-mee-NOH ah meh-dyah-NOH-cheh

A few key points for Spain Spanish:

• película stress: LÍ
• terminó stress: NÓ
• ch in noche sounds like English ch in church
• In much of Spain, the c in noche is not affected here, but in words with ce/ci it would sound like the th in think

Yes. Película is a feminine noun, so it takes feminine articles and adjectives:

• la película
• una película
• la película española
• la película larga

That grammatical gender does not change.

Usually it means at midnight, and it often suggests roughly that time, just like in English.

Depending on context, people may use it either:

• precisely: exactly at 12:00
• more loosely: around midnight

But the basic meaning is still at midnight.