Downton Abbey Ends With Rotten Tomatoes Score No One Saw Coming
By the sound of it, Downton went out on top.
Fifteen years after we first walked into that very fancy house, Downton Abbey is taking its final bow with a third and last movie. And, honestly, it sounds like they stuck the landing.
So, is the farewell any good?
Early signs point to yes. 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' launched on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89% score, which (as of now) makes it the best-reviewed Downton movie. Some critics still think the vibe can be a little dusty and sugar-coated, but as Dulcie Pearce notes, the slick glamour, the lush scenery, the stacked cast, and that theme song do a lot of heavy lifting.
"With an assist from returning director Simon Curtis, who knows how to keep things moving while still feeling stately, Fellowes has managed to bring his most significant creation to a most satisfying conclusion."
ScreenRant's Rachel LaBonte calls it exactly the kind of sendoff fans want, and The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey goes even further, saying it's as graceful and fitting an ending as you could hope for.
"When the film concludes with a soulful look back on the time spent at Downton, the tears flowed so hard that I saw the sequence through a completely imperceptible puddle in my eyes."
Where the story picks up
Set in the 1930s, the movie finds Mary thrust into a public scandal just as the family is staring down real financial trouble. Social disgrace is on the table, change is unavoidable, and both the Crawleys and the staff have to adjust as a new generation starts steering Downton into whatever the future looks like for an old estate in a new world.
Maggie Smith does not appear this time, but the film reportedly makes space to honor the Dowager Countess in a way that feels like a proper tribute.
Who is in it
- Returning: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Raquel Cassidy, Elizabeth McGovern, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier
- New additions: Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, Arty Froushan
The end of the line (for real this time)
This is the capper to Julian Fellowes' whole saga: the series premiered in the UK in 2010, hit PBS in 2011, wrapped its TV run in 2015, and has since spun off into three feature films. Director Simon Curtis returns behind the camera, which explains why it moves along without losing that stately Downton posture. As sendoffs go, this one sounds genuinely earned — and yes, the show really did grow from Sunday-night comfort TV into a pop-culture machine that birthed clothing lines, Funko Pops, and more home goods than any drawing room needs.
Release and credits
'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' is in theaters September 12, 2025 via Focus Features. It runs 123 minutes, is rated PG, and is written by Julian Fellowes, with Liz Trubridge and Nigel Marchant producing and Simon Curtis directing.