# The Grudge 3

**The Grudge 3** is a 2009 American horror film directed by Toby Wilkins and the third installment of the American *Grudge* series, released direct-to-video in the United States on May 12, 2009 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.<sup>[1](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Grudge-3-The)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://ju-on-the-grudge.fandom.com/wiki/Ju-on_%28franchise%29)</sup> It continues the story of the curse introduced in *The Grudge* (2004) and *The Grudge 2* (2006), moving the haunting to a Chicago apartment building.<sup>[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge3)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Toby Wilkins; screenplay by Brad Keene<sup>[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mjm3mjy)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3/cast-and-crew)</sup> |
| US release | Direct-to-video, May 12, 2009, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment<sup>[1](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Grudge-3-The)</sup> |
| Running time / rating | 90 minutes; rated R for violence, disturbing images, and some language<sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3)</sup> |
| Principal cast | Matthew Knight (Jake), Shawnee Smith (Dr. Sullivan), Aiko Horiuchi (Kayako), Shimba Tsuchiya (Toshio), Emi Ikehata (Naoko)<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3/cast-and-crew)</sup> |
| Box office | $1,869,127 worldwide, all from international theatrical releases; no domestic release<sup>[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1053859/)</sup> |
| Home video | Estimated DVD sales of $4,969,587<sup>[1](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Grudge-3-The)</sup> |
| Reception | IMDb 4.6/10 from about 21,000 votes; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 27% from 5 reviews<sup>[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053859/ratings/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Plot

Jake Kimble (Matthew Knight), the sole survivor of the massacre in *The Grudge 2*, is hospitalized after being tortured by visions of the ghosts Kayako and Toshio. His caretaker, Dr. Sullivan ([Shawnee Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/shawnee-smith), of the *Saw* series), investigates his stories and visits his Chicago apartment building, where she finds another family on the brink of succumbing to the curse. A mysterious Japanese woman, Naoko (Emi Ikehata), arrives with a possible way to banish the spirits forever, though her plan carries its own risk of destroying everyone involved.<sup>[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge3)</sup>

The vengeful spirits at the center of the story are [Kayako Saeki](https://www.edgepedia.org/kayako-saeki), played by Aiko Horiuchi, and her son Toshio, played by Shimba Tsuchiya; Takako Fuji appears as Kayako in archive footage.<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3/cast-and-crew)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://ottasia.com/title/movie/1977/the-grudge-3?country=IN)</sup> The supporting cast includes [Johanna Braddy](https://www.edgepedia.org/johanna-braddy) as Lisa Morrison, Beau Mirchoff as Andy, Gil McKinney as Max, and [Marina Sirtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/marina-sirtis) as Gretchen.<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3/cast-and-crew)</sup>

### Place in the franchise

The American series ran *The Grudge* (2004), *The Grudge 2* (2006), and *The Grudge 3* (2009) before a 2020 soft-reboot "sidequel" titled simply *The Grudge* reverted the naming scheme.<sup>[12](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/heres-how-netflixs-grudge-tv-show-connects-to-the-/2900-3523/)</sup> The 2004 film was a remake of Shimizu's *Ju-On: The Grudge* (2002), with Shimizu himself directing the American version; *The Grudge 3* was instead a further entry in the American series directed by an American, Toby Wilkins.<sup>[13](https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28950/1/6412_Bingham.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[14](https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/27275/HickinbottomJ.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)</sup>

## Production and release

Although the film takes place in Chicago and briefly in Tokyo, it was filmed in Bulgaria for economic reasons; the predominantly English-speaking cast and crew could not speak Bulgarian, so several translators worked on set.<sup>[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053859/)</sup> The British Board of Film Classification certified the film on April 30, 2009 at 87 minutes, noting strong language, horror, and infrequent gory violence.<sup>[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mjm3mjy)</sup>

Unlike the first two American films, The Grudge 3 did not receive a worldwide theatrical release and went direct-to-video in the United States.<sup>[2](https://ju-on-the-grudge.fandom.com/wiki/Ju-on_%28franchise%29)</sup> It did open theatrically in some international markets, beginning in South Korea on August 27, 2009, followed by the Philippines (September 9, 2009), Mexico (June 25, 2010), the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) (May 6, 2010), and others. Mexico was the largest market at $1,155,992 of the $1,869,127 total.<sup>[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1053859/)</sup>

The production came from Ghost House Pictures, the company [Sam Raimi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-raimi) founded, which had licensed the remake rights to the Japanese *Ju-On* (呪怨) series from director Takashi Shimizu in 2003; producers were Andrew Pfeffer and Takashige Ichise, with Shimizu, Roy Lee, and Doug Davison among the executive producers.<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3/cast-and-crew)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://www.scifijapan.com/international-scifi/the-grudge-returns-in-january-from-sam-raimi-and-sony-pictures)</sup>

## Reception

The film drew weak reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer stood at 27% from five reviews, and its IMDb rating is 4.6/10 from about 21,000 votes.<sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053859/ratings/)</sup> Critics were divided in degree rather than direction: David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews called it "a mostly underwhelming endeavor," while Heather Wixson of Dread Central gave it 3/5 and wrote that the third act left her feeling the series had "finally come to a satisfying resolution." Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique asked how Ghost House Productions had managed to run the franchise "into the depths of the direct-to-video abyss so quickly."<sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3)</sup> The film's commercial footprint matched its limited release: about $1.87 million at international theaters against estimated DVD sales just under $5 million.<sup>[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1053859/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Grudge-3-The)</sup>

## References

1. [The Grudge 3 (2009) – Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Grudge-3-The)
2. [Ju-on (franchise), Ju-On Wiki](https://ju-on-the-grudge.fandom.com/wiki/Ju-on_%28franchise%29)
3. [THE GRUDGE 3, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge3)
4. [The Grudge 3, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mjm3mjy)
5. [The Grudge 3: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3/cast-and-crew)
6. [The Grudge 3, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_3)
7. [The Grudge 3, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1053859/)
8. [The Grudge 3 (2009) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053859/ratings/)
9. [Where to watch The Grudge 3 in India, OTTASIA](https://ottasia.com/title/movie/1977/the-grudge-3?country=IN)
10. [The Grudge 3 (2009), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053859/)
11. [THE GRUDGE Returns in January From Sam Raimi and Sony Pictures, SciFi Japan](https://www.scifijapan.com/international-scifi/the-grudge-returns-in-january-from-sam-raimi-and-sony-pictures)
12. [Here's How Netflix's Grudge TV Show Connects To The J-Horror Movies, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/heres-how-netflixs-grudge-tv-show-connects-to-the-/2900-3523/)
13. [J. Bingham, NTU eprints (thesis acknowledging the franchise history)](https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28950/1/6412_Bingham.pdf)
14. [J. Hickinbottom, Takashi Miike and the Dynamics of Cult Authorship, University of Exeter](https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/27275/HickinbottomJ.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Horror and slasher series film entries › 2000s releases*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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