Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)

Nobody in the final Downton Abbey faces anything scarier than neighbors turning down a dinner invitation, and the film treats it like a siege. It’s 1930. Lady Mary is freshly divorced, a London hostess shows her out of a ball before the royals arrive, and back at Downton the Crawleys are suddenly the family nobody wants to dine with. Paul Giamatti’s Harold sails in from America with bad news about the family money and a smooth adviser named Gus Sambrook, whose handshake should come with a warning label. The money plot fizzles fast. What’s left is a long, warm goodbye: Noël Coward at the table, Mr. Molesley chasing a writing career, Isobel and Mr. Carson shaking up the county fair. Fans will need tissues. Newcomers will be lost within ten minutes. It holds a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and made $107.9 million worldwide. A 6.8 because it’s a lovely send-off with almost no stakes. $1,017 says you set the table a little fancier for your next family meal and someone asks what the occasion is.

What works: It gives nearly every beloved character a graceful final beat, and the Noël Coward visit is a treat.

What doesn’t: The money plot and its villain are dealt with too easily, so the film has almost no real tension.

Who it’s for: Longtime Downton fans ready to say goodbye, with tissues within reach.