Downton Abbey (film)

The original television series, Downton Abbey, ended in 2015, after 52 episodes[10][11][12] with its final episode set at New Year's Eve, 1925.[13] In April 2016, it was revealed that a film adaptation was being considered,[14] with Julian Fellowes working on an outline plot.[15] A script was distributed to original cast members early in 2017.[16][17]

On 13 July 2018, the producers confirmed that a feature-length film would be made,[18] with production commencing mid-2018.[19][12] The script was written by Fellowes. The producers are Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge and Fellowes.[20] The film is distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures International.[21] In late August 2018, it was reported that Brian Percival had stepped down as director and Michael Engler took on this job. Percival, in addition to Nigel Marchant, would be an executive producer.[22][23]

The plot of the film is based on an actual trip by the British royals to Wentworth Woodhouse in 1912 in order to demonstrate the importance of the monarchy. The estate itself was used as part of the shooting locations because of the story's link to that history.[24]

Original cast members including Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael and Maggie Smith, were confirmed to return as their characters from the series,[20][25] with Joanne Froggatt confirming her involvement in a separate announcement.[26] Lily James, who played Lady Rose MacClare, stated she would not be reprising her role for the film,[27][28] as did Ed Speleers who played footman Jimmy Kent.[29]

An August 2018 announcement indicated that newcomers Imelda Staunton, Geraldine James, Tuppence Middleton, Simon Jones, David Haig, Kate Phillips, and Stephen Campbell Moore would be among the cast of the film.[23] The producers told the news media that Simon Jones and Geraldine James play the King and Queen, respectively (although not shown in the trailer), while David Haig appears as the King's butler.[30]

In September 2018, it was confirmed that Matthew Goode, who played Lady Mary's husband Henry Talbot in the final series, appears only briefly due to other commitments,[31] while Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Rob James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol and Penelope Wilton were confirmed to be reprising their respective roles, with Max Brown joining in a new, undisclosed role.[32][33]

Costumes were designed by Anna Mary Scott Robbins working with John Bright of the costume company COSPROP in London, which specialises in historic, period costumes.[34] The company has some of Queen Mary's real wardrobe, studied for details of construction.[34] Geraldine James' Queen Mary costume was constructed using material from one of the Queen's actual dresses.[34] During the Ball scene, both Michelle Dockery and Elizabeth McGovern wore vintage dresses that were embellished with additional work. Dockery's beaded French gown had beads lengthened to the floor by hand. While Michelle Dockery wears Swarovski crystals in her tiara, Maggie Smith's is a 19th-century platinum piece[34] from Bentley & Skinner of Piccadilly jewellers by Royal appointment[35] with 16.5 carats of diamonds. Smith's ball gown was found in a vintage shop in Paris and dye was used to alter the turquoise colour to lilac.[34]

Principal photography started in London in late August 2018.[36][23] By 20 September, some filming was under way at Highclere Castle, Hampshire, which had been the main location for the television series.[37][38] Also in September, filming was under way in Lacock, Wiltshire, with Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery as well as two new cast members, Imelda Staunton (wife of Jim Carter) and Geraldine James; scenes shot in Lacock included a celebration with horses from the Royal Artillery.[39] Exterior scenes set in York were filmed on location at Beamish Museum, complete with operational trams.[40] The Heritage Railways scenes were filmed on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway with Pickering terminus representing Kings Cross. The Royal Mail Sorting Office Coach was borrowed from the Great Central Railway at Loughborough. Filming concluded in November 2018.[41]

Downton Abbey grossed $96.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $97.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $194.2 million.[5][6] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $88 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[47]

Several weeks before its release in the United States, Fandango announced Downton Abbey's first day advanced ticket sales were pacing ahead of all other adult dramas in 2019, including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ($41.1 million debut that July).[48][49] A week prior to its release the film held advanced screenings, where it made $2.2 million.[50] Overall, it was originally projected to gross $16–25 million from 3,076 theaters in its opening weekend.[3] After making $13.8 million on its first day, including $2.1 million from Thursday night previews, estimates were raised to $31 million. It went on to debut to $31 million, topping the box office and marking the largest opening in Focus Features' history.[4] The film made $14.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomer Abominable, then $7.9 million in its third, finishing third.[51][52]

At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 242 reviews, with an average rating of 6.88/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Downton Abbey distills many of the ingredients that made the show an enduring favorite, welcoming fans back for a fittingly resplendent homecoming."[53] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on reviews from 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[54] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4.5 out of 5 stars and a 72% "definite recommend".[4]

June Thomas writing for Slate praised the film, writing: "The plot of the Downton Abbey movie is brilliant, not so much because it is surprising, but because it allows every member of the cast to do what we expect of them".[55] In a more lukewarm reaction, Peter Bradshaw, writing for The Guardian, said: "The Downton Abbey movie is not as spectacularly star-studded as Gosford Park, but it's got its share of A-list talent, however: Maggie Smith, of course, as the dowager Countess of Grantham, Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham (absent-mindedly fondling his retriever at breakfast) – there's also Imelda Staunton in a new role and Jim Carter as the beetle-browed former butler Mr Carson. All are very underused".[56]

Writing in the British publication Radio Times, Eleanor Bley Griffiths writes that Downton the film is "frankly disappointing". She explains that "What the film lacks is any sense of real jeopardy. As we found out from the trailer, the big plot-line is this: the King and Queen are coming to dinner and Downton must be made perfect! But that simple story is stretched out to a full two hours of incredibly low-stakes, predictable drama with an overabundance of sub-plots". Griffiths goes on to unfavourably compare the new film with the TV series: "On TV, there was time to explore different threads and highlight specific characters as the series went on; but the movie gives us a whole series-worth of storylines draped over one lacklustre main plot".[57]

The cast and crew were featured in a short interview segment on PBS public television on 20 September 2019, as recognition of the influence which the film and related series have had on American popular culture.[58]