[2] It was released in Japan on June 18, 2016, Indonesia on August 10 (followed by 4DX on February 15, 2017),[3] and in North America on the streaming site Shudder on January 26, 2017.

The video player is sold at a shop and bought by university students Yuri Kurahashi and Natsumi Ueno.

Afterward, they receive a disturbing phone call as Sadako manifests in the room behind Yuri, startling Natsumi.

Obsessed with the idea of meeting Sadako, Morishige eagerly watches the tape, although the girls are less than thrilled, as Natsumi only has one day to live.

Keizo arrives, accompanied by a blind psychic girl, Tamao, who tells Yuri that she has unnecessarily cursed herself.

Meanwhile, high school student Suzuka Takagi starts having dreams of the haunted Saeki house after moving in nearby with her family.

Yuri chooses to sacrifice herself, jumping into the well as Sadako and Kayako begin to rush toward her, resulting in a massive collision that bisects Keizo and turns both ghosts into a giant mass of hair, flesh, and eyes.

This last resort does not work either, and instead backfires terribly: both Sadako and Kayako's curses combine and become a single entity: Sadakaya.

Now possessing Yuri's body with the appearance of Sadako, a combined movement of both spirits and the sound of Kayako's death rattle.

Despite a rumor about Takako Fuji reprising her role as Kayako in this crossover, the actress stated several times on Twitter that she was not playing this representation of the character.

On Twitter, users could vote for either Sadako or Kayako as their favorite horror icon up until the day of the film's release.

As with the previous Ju-on films, Sadako, Kayako, and Toshio were present, in costume, and stayed true to their roles.

[9] In the beginning of June, a baseball match featuring the Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Yakult Swallows was interrupted by Sadako, Kayako, and Toshio who staged the first pit ceremony.

[12] An Instagram account was created for Kayako and Toshio, depicting humorous, everyday life situations with the two ghosts.

[21] Joe Lipsett, also writing for Bloody Disgusting, agreed saying that "the biggest flaw of Sadako vs. Kayako is that it takes far, far too long to get the titular to face off.....Even the narrative hoops required to bring the two franchises together don't hold up under scrutiny!