Stranger Things: The Finale is coming.
The highly anticipated final showdown of the mega-hit series will be simultaneously playing out on both the little and big screen, and Netflix on Tuesday revealed both the official runtime for the feature-length ending, as well as the locations where fans can see the ending in movie theaters.
First, the official run time for The Finale will be two hours and five minutes.
Next, fan screenings of the final episode of the coming-of-age sci-fi saga will be taking place in over 500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada starting on Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET — the same time the episode makes its global premiere on Netflix — and will run through Jan. 1, 2026.
Visit www.ST5Finale.com for the full list of participating cities and theater locations, and to RSVP. Exhibitors are selling a concession voucher for fans to reserve seats via an RSVP list, meaning Netflix won’t earn revenue on the fan screenings.
Netflix along with creators Matt and Ross Duffer had announced that Stranger Things: The Finale would be coming to theaters in addition to streaming back in October, reversing course on earlier statements made by the streamer that the ending would not play on the big screen.
“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,” The Duffer Brothers said at the time 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.”
The Duffers elaborated further when recently speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the final season, which released its first part of a three-part release on Nov. 26. (Volume 2 hits on Christmas with three episodes, followed by The Finale on New Year’s Eve.)
“Initially, that wasn’t the plan at all,” Matt told THR of the epic ending coming to theaters. “Originally, the finale season was just going to be split into two volumes: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Then after we were done filming, Netflix approached us with the idea of putting the finale on its own day, which we thought was cool because it would allow us to pitch our movie theater idea. So we pitched them and the reason we’ve never pitched it before [is] because it just never really made sense given how the show is released. What’s fun about seeing something in the theater, we think, is that everyone is experiencing it for the first time together. What we liked about this particular release pattern is that it allows that opportunity for a group of fans to sit and watch this unfold together.”
Matt previously told THR that the creators have known “for a really long time” what the final scene of the series would be, and that the brothers plan to sneak into one of the participating theaters to witness the audience’s reactions. “Otherwise you’re just going off TikTok and YouTube videos or whatever,” he said. “We’ve never had that experience before, so we’re excited. It’s also going to sound and look better.”
The Duffer Brothers recently signed a four-year exclusive deal with Paramount to create feature films after their Netflix contract ends next year. The move also follows Netflix’s success in releasing KPop Demon Hunters as a sing-along theatrical event this summer.
Since Stranger Things debuted in 2016, the series has quickly become one of Netflix’s most popular television series ever, with its fourth season alone amassing over 140.7M views globally.
The sprawling cast includes Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Jamie Campbell Bower, Cara Buono, Amybeth McNulty, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, Alex Breaux and Linda Hamilton.
Ahead of Stranger Things 5‘s release, all four previous seasons landed in the Top 10, marking the first time a series has had four previous seasons in the Top 10 all at the same time.
Created by The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is produced by Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment with The Duffer Brothers as executive producers, along with Shawn Levy of 21 Laps Entertainment and Dan Cohen.