The upcoming Stranger Things 5 finale will be available to watch on the big screen. Screenings will take place in over 350 theaters in the U.S. and Canada starting on December 31, 2025 at 5 pm PT, the same time the series finale drops on Netflix globally, through Jan. 1, 2026.
While rare, stunt theatrical engagements for hit TV shows are not unprecedented. Netflix held screenings of Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 in various cities across North America on Stranger Things Day (Nov. 6) 2022, months after the installment’s streaming premiere. This means that the Season 4 and Season 5 finales of Stranger Things — both movie-length, spanning 2+ hours — will have had a short-window theatrical run. HBO released at least two episodes of Game of Thrones in theaters after their TV premieres, also for promotional purposes, including to hype a DVD release.
Debuting an episode of a TV show in theaters and on streaming has not been done before. It resembles the day-and-date movie release strategy where films are simultaneously released in theaters and on streaming platforms or VOD the same day.
Netflix, which had long rejected theatrical distribution, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos earlier this year calling theatrical experience “an outmoded idea for most people,” has started to soften its stance with limited releases for selected film titles, including KPop Demon Hunters (sing-along version) this summer and fall, with Frankenstein, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and Chronicles of Narnia coming up.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who are big proponents of theatrical — a major reason for their decision to move from Netflix to Paramount — shared in a recent Variety story their desire to get the series finale into theaters.
While Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria did not appear supportive of the idea in the story, saying that “I think releasing [Stranger Things] on Netflix is giving the fans what they want,” she and Sarandos had been having conversations with the Duffers about the possibility.
The brothers acknowledged that in their statement in the finale theatrical release announcement.
“We’re beyond excited that fans will have the chance to experience the final episode of Stranger Things in theaters — it’s something we’ve dreamed about for years, and we’re so grateful to Ted, Bela, and everyone at Netflix for making it happen,” they said. “Getting to see it on the big screen, with incredible sound, picture, and a room full of fans, feels like the perfect — dare we say bitchin’ — way to celebrate the end of this adventure.”
There is no information yet on participating theaters.
Stranger Things 5 will be released on Netflix in three batches: Volume 1 on Nov. 26 (Episodes 501-504), Volume 2 on Dec. 25 (Episodes 505-507), and the finale on December 31 (Episode 508).
Season 5 is set in the fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.
The cast includes Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay).
Created by The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is produced by Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment with The Duffer Brothers serving as executive producers, alongside Shawn Levy of 21 Laps Entertainment and Dan Cohen.
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