Imelda Staunton, who portrays Maud, Lady Bagshaw in the previous film, stated in March 2024 that a third and final film in the Downton Abbey franchise was being planned, with the main cast set to return. Following the announcement of several cast members reprising their roles in May, filming began that month and concluded in August, with a net budget of $50 million. The official title was announced in March 2025.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale was released by Focus Features on 12 September 2025. The film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $98 million worldwide.
Plot
In 1930 London, the Crawleys, except Mary, attend a play starring Guy Dexter and Noël Coward, who is also the playwright. Backstage they meet with Dexter, Coward, and former Downton Abbey butler Thomas Barrow, now Dexter's assistant and partner-lover. The next day, the Crawley family is at Lady Petersfield's ball when news breaks about Mary and Henry Talbot's divorce. Mary is asked to leave because royals are expected to attend.
Robert and Cora return to Downton Abbey while Mary remains at Grantham House to receive Cora's brother, Harold Levinson, who is arriving from America following their mother Martha's death. Accompanying Harold is financial adviser Gus Sambrook, who reportedly saved Harold from financial ruin by withdrawing his stock market investments prior to the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Sambrook and Mary are mutually attracted, drink heavily, and end up in bed together. The party travels to Downton Abbey, where Harold, to Cora's dismay, reveals that he squandered their mother's fortune on poor investments. He wants to invest Downton's remaining assets to recoup his losses and repay his debt to Sambrook.
Mary's divorce causes Downton neighbours to shun the Crawleys and decline a dinner invitation. Robert, still reeling from Mary's failed marriage and Harold's poor judgement, opposes Mary's suggestion to sell Grantham House in London to raise capital. When the family rejects Sambrook's proposal to invest Downton's income, he attempts to blackmail Mary regarding their liaison. Meanwhile, Tom Branson arrives with daughter Sybbie.
At Royal Ascot, an acquaintance informs Tom that Sambrook is a fraudster who swindled other people's fortunes and recently avoided imprisonment. Deducing that Sambrook embezzled the Levinson wealth, Tom warns the Crawleys and Harold. Edith confronts Sambrook, forcing him to leave. Before departing, Sambrook has a final conversation with Mary, who tersely dismisses him. A remorseful Harold reconciles with Cora before returning to America.
Tom and Bertie Pelham convince Robert that Mary is acting in Downton Abbey's interest. He is finally able to leave the running of the estate to her. Robert and Cora resolve to move to the Downton dower house, taking along servants John and Anna Bates, who are expecting a second child. Anna becomes Cora's lady's maid while Baxter is Mary's.
Dexter, Coward, and Barrow are coming to Downton Abbey, and Edith and Cora see an opportunity to rehabilitate Mary's reputation; they ask the servants to spread news about the impending visit in the village. Mr Molesley, working full-time as a screenwriter, returns as a footman for the dinner, hoping Dexter and Coward will notice him. Molesley is disappointed when Dexter fails to remember him, though Coward is impressed that Molesley wrote the script for The Gambler.[a] Molesley's spirits are lifted when, after chatting with Coward, he inadvertently provides the title for Coward's upcoming play, Private Lives, which is inspired by Mary's divorce. The dinner is a success and the Crawleys are again viewed favourably. Daisy Parker, now Downton's head cook following Mrs Patmore's retirement, prepared her first large dinner.
Meanwhile, Isobel, Lady Merton, helping to organise the annual county fair, clashes with the traditionalist chairman, Sir Hector Moreland, over how to run the event. Seeking fresh perspectives, Isobel invites Daisy and Downton's retired butler, Mr Carson, to join the committee. They support Isobel's ideas. When Sir Hector vehemently objects to Mary presenting the fair's main award, Isobel successfully outmanoeuvres him; Mary presents the award to Mr Mason, Mrs Patmore's husband and Daisy's father-in-law.
Robert and Cora, the servants, and Edith express confidence and trust in Mary's ability to manage Downton Abbey. As Robert and Cora prepare to exit the Main Hall, Mary has flashbacks about her experiences and deceased loved ones. Robert and Cora stroll the estate grounds as they depart for the Dower House. A mid-credits scene shows the couples in the series enjoying each other's company and Mary reading to her children.
Laura Carmichael as Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham, second daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham
Jim Carter as Charles "Charlie" Carson, former butler of the Crawley family and husband of Elsie Hughes
Raquel Cassidy as Phyllis Baxter (Molesley), lady's maid to Lady Grantham, and wife of Joseph Molesley
Paul Copley as Albert Mason, a former tenant farmer under the Crawleys, father of Daisy's late first husband, William Mason, and husband of Beryl Patmore
Brendan Coyle as John Bates, the valet of Lord Grantham and husband of Anna Bates
Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot, eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham
Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley, an up-and-coming screenwriter, former footman at Downton Abbey and husband of Phyllis Baxter
Michael Fox as Andrew "Andy" Parker, former footman and current butler at Downton Abbey and husband of Daisy Parker
Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates, lady's maid to Lady Mary and wife of John Bates
Paul Giamatti as Harold Levinson, an American businessman and brother of Lady Grantham
Harry Hadden-Paton as Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham and husband of Edith
Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow, former butler at Downton Abbey and current assistant and lover of Guy Dexter
Allen Leech as Tom Branson, the widower of Lady Sybil, Lord and Lady Grantham's late youngest daughter, and husband of Lucy Smith, a distant cousin of the Crawley family
Phyllis Logan as Elsie Hughes (Carson), the housekeeper at Downton Abbey and wife of Charlie Carson
In March 2024, Imelda Staunton, who portrayed Maud, Lady Bagshaw in the film Downton Abbey: A New Era, confirmed that a third and final film in the Downton Abbey franchise was being planned, with the main cast returning.[5] In May, Paul Giamatti and Dominic West were announced to be reprising their roles as Harold Levinson and Guy Dexter respectively, alongside Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale and Arty Froushan in undisclosed roles.[6] On 27 March 2025, the title was revealed as Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.[7] John Lunn returned to score music for The Grand Finale after previously doing the same for the television series and its film continuation.[8]
On 8 September 2025, the film premiered in London and New York City.[9] On 10 September 2025, NBC aired Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale to promote the film. The television special, which was filmed at London's Savoy Hotel, reunited the cast for a look back at the legacy of the television series and also included an exclusive preview of the film.[10] On 11 September 2025, the film was released next in Italy and Australia.[11][12] On 12 September 2025, the film was generally released to all remaining cinemas.[11][12] On 19 September 2025, the film was released in Norway.[13]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 136 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Soothing as a cup of tea while providing a satisfying amount of closure, The Grand Finale is a worthy sendoff for Downton Abbey."[14]
On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 66 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]
Pete Hammond for Deadline writes that "writer-producer Julian Fellowes has created such a memorable group of characters it is hard to finally say goodbye to them, but in this witty and wise finale it is nice to report it is a goodbye worth saying".[16]
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