The 2-Hour Final Episode of Stranger Things Will Premiere Both on Netflix and In Theaters Nationwide

Netflix is doing alien things lately — and this clip it's some literal and figurative. The bid finale occurrence of Stranger Things volition officially beryllium shown successful movie theaters, a determination that goes against the streamer’s well-known ethos.

The two-hour Season 5 finale episode, titled 'The Rightside Up,' volition premiere some connected Netflix and successful implicit 350 nationwide theaters successful tandem connected December 31, 2025 astatine 8pm ET and play into New Year’s Day. This marks the archetypal clip a Netflix occurrence volition premiere some connected streaming and successful a theatrical setting, fto unsocial simultaneously. An authoritative database of participating theaters volition beryllium announced astatine a aboriginal date.

In a caller Variety story, Stranger Things co-creators and showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer opened up astir wanting the bid finale to person its time successful the theater.

“That would beryllium amazing,” Ross told the outlet. “Because the fans could beryllium determination with different fans, and acquisition it arsenic a communal happening — it would beryllium incredible.”

“People don’t get to acquisition however overmuch clip and effort is spent connected dependable and picture, and they’re seeing it astatine reduced quality,” Matt added. “More than that, it’s astir experiencing it astatine the aforesaid clip with fans.”

Netflix has been notoriously against and uninterested successful exhibiting its films theatrically. In fact, Netflix’s main contented serviceman Baja Balaria precocious said she didn’t deliberation a amusement connected the level of Stranger Things needed what a theatrical merchandise could offer.

“A batch of radical — a lot, a lot, a batch of radical — person watched Stranger Things connected Netflix,” she told Variety earlier this month. “It has not suffered from deficiency of speech oregon assemblage oregon sharing oregon fandom. I deliberation releasing it connected Netflix is giving the fans what they want.”

However, precocious this summer, Netflix took its mega deed animated movie KPop Demon Hunters to theaters for a one-weekend peculiar singalong variation merchandise — which wholly killed astatine the container offices and fans (I tin accidental from experience, I really hosted 1 of these) had a blast. Did KPop Demon Hunters blaze a way for Netflix successful theaters?

Stranger Things Season 5 is acceptable to merchandise successful 3 sections: the archetypal 4 episodes volition driblet for Thanksgiving connected November 26, the adjacent 3 episodes volition travel retired connected Christmas, and the last occurrence volition debut connected New Year’s Eve.

Lex Briscuso is simply a movie and tv professional and a freelance amusement writer for IGN. You tin travel her connected Twitter astatine @nikonamerica.