Well, it was reported they weren’t going to do it, but it appears the Duffer Brothers convinced Netflix after all. The series finale of Stranger Things, the last two-hour episode, will air in theaters in the US and Canada. Briefly.
Netflix has announced today that the season 5 finale will appear in 350 theaters across those two countries. Great news, but this is a very limited release. The first showing will be at 5 PM PT on December 31, 2025, which is when the episode will be released on Netflix itself. That means in the East Coast, especially, your New Year’s Eve plans are mainly going to revolve around seeing Stranger Things in theaters.
You do not have much time to catch it after that, either. It’s only running for one more day, through January 1, 2026. So that’s it, that’s your window. This isn’t even a KPop Demon Hunters two-weekends-only situation.
You cannot buy or pre-order tickets now, so don’t freak out about that. Netflix says that further information on the theatrical release will be “later this year.” We are still two months out from that release, of course. No, the other seven episodes are not going to be in theaters.
Here’s what the Duffer Brothers said about this 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. 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.”
The Duffer Brothers have been extremely vocal not just in terms of wanting Stranger Things to be in theaters for its finale, but to do theatrical releases overall. It’s part of the reason they’re leaving Netflix after Stranger Things is over and heading to Paramount, where those theatrical releases were part of their deal.
I think this is a good idea. I might even try to get tickets myself, as I’d rather watch it there than at home or on my computer with watermarked screener copies. We know it’s going to be blockbuster in scale, so it’s hard to imagine that the theater isn’t a great place to watch it. The main thing I’m annoyed about here is that the show thinks it’s fun to take over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s for its triple release dates, which I find presumptuous and irritating. But yes, at least the triple split means that this finale event can happen, as I don’t think it would otherwise. More info on locations and tickets soon.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
