Netflix‘s previously stated plan not to release the series finale of Stranger Things into theaters has been turned upside down.
The streamer announced Thursday that the highly anticipated feature-length ending to the coming-of-age sci-fi hit will get a theatrical release after all.
The screenings of the season five closer will take place in more than 350 theaters in the U.S. and Canada starting on Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. PT — timed to the finale’s global premiere on Netflix — and will run through Jan. 1, 2026.
“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,” said The Duffer Brothers 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.”
Previously, the creators and Netflix’s chief creative officer Bela Bajaria said to Variety in a story published earlier this month that the show would not get a theatrical release, with the trade noting the executive “shot down” the idea when it was mentioned. “A lot of people — a lot, a lot, a lot of people — have watched Stranger Things on Netflix,” Bajaria said. “It has not suffered from lack of conversation or community or sharing or fandom. I think releasing it on Netflix is giving the fans what they want.”
While Matt Duffer added at the time, “People don’t get to experience how much time and effort is spent on sound and picture, and they’re seeing it at reduced quality. More than that, [a theatrical release is] about experiencing it at the same time with fans.”
A week later, the industry newsletter Puck reported that the finale would likely go into theaters, and noted the interview had been conducted weeks before publication and that the situation had since changed. A Netflix source now adds that the theatrical deal has “been in the works for some time, contrary to any speculation that would suggest otherwise” (which is a bit odd, as the “speculation” was due to quotes from the streamer’s own programming chief and the show’s co-creator — but okay!).
The news also follows the Duffer Brothers signing a four-year exclusive deal with Paramount explicitly to create feature films after their Netflix contract ends next year, a move which has been seen as a talent loss for the streamer. “I will say the biggest draw to us [to jump to Paramount] was just to be able to do something theatrical, which is not something Netflix does,” Duffer said about the deal in that Variety interview. The duo will continue, however, to be involved with potential Stranger Things projects for Netflix.
The move also follows Netflix’s success in releasing KPop Demon Hunters as a sing-along theatrical event in August. What’s good enough for KPop Demon Hunters, it seems, is also good enough for Netflix’s biggest legacy show.
Netflix has a history of pushing back on the idea of putting its content in theaters. Earlier this year, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos declared the traditional theater experience is “an outdated concept” and agreed that the desire of filmmakers to have their work in cinemas is “an outmoded idea.”
More information on how to attend the finale screenings — as well as specific theater locations — will be made available later this year.
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things will be rolled out in three parts, all coinciding with major U.S. holidays: The first four episodes will drop Nov. 26 during Thanksgiving week, another three episodes will be released on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), and then the single-episode finale will drop New Years Eve.
The season five official description reads: “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”
Created by The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted in 2016 and quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular television series ever, with its fourth season alone amassing over 140.7M views globally.