The final episode of Stranger Things will be the first-ever Netflix show to get a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release, with a two-day event taking place on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 2026.
Deadline reports that over 500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada will debut the finale, beginning at 5 p.m. PT on December 31. That’s the same moment when fans at home will be able to stream the Stranger Things 5 finale, which marks the series finale of the fan-favorite series.
“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 [Sarandos], Bela [Bajaria], and everyone at Netflix for making it happen,” Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer said in a statement. “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.”
Stranger Things, which debuted in 2016, has been one of Netflix’s most successful series of all time. In addition to mountains of merchandise, comic book spinoffs, novelizations, and more, the series was one of the rare Netflix originals to get physical media releases (at least for the first two seasons). Other Netflix shows to get a DVD/Blu-ray release are mostly licensed shows like Wednesday or Daredevil, where it was the IP owner who elected to put them out on disc.
In addition to physical media, Netflix is generally averse to theatrical releases for all but the biggest (or most awards-bait-y) of its movies and shows. KPop Demon Hunters got a limited release earlier this year, and Frankenstein, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and the streamer’s Chronicles of Narnia movies all have planned theatrical releases coming up. The Duffer Brothers reportedly moved from Netflix to Paramount in the hopes of getting more of their work into theaters.
While a simultaneous theatrical release is a first, other key episodes of popular series have received theatrical releases. Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 got a limited release in 2022, although that was long after the episodes debuted online. Similarly, HBO put episodes of Game of Thrones in theaters for an even more limited release.
Last week, we spoke with Michael Huang, the co-creator of the popular YouTube series Battle For Dream Island, who debuted their most recent episode in theaters nationwide on October 16.
In 2024, Arrowverse co-creator Marc Guggenheim revealed that they had initially planned to release Crisis on Infinite Earths in theaters, but those plans were scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stranger Things 5, the long-awaited finale to the beloved series, is set to be released on Netflix in three separate batches beginning with Volume 1 on November 26, Volume 2 on December 25, and the finale on December 31.
English (US) · 