diff --git a/libavformat/fifo.c b/libavformat/fifo.c
index a9b59b6589..10511167cd 100644
--- a/libavformat/fifo.c
+++ b/libavformat/fifo.c
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ static int fifo_thread_write_header(FifoThreadContext *ctx)
 
     ret = av_dict_copy(&format_options, fifo->format_options, 0);
     if (ret < 0)
-        return ret;
+        goto end;
 
     ret = ff_format_output_open(avf2, avf->url, &format_options);
     if (ret < 0) {