The Stranger Things series finale is setting Netflix history, but it's something that the streamer avoided for a long time due to its no. 1 rule.

It looks like fans of Stranger Things might be ending 2025 in a movie theater instead of their living room. Despite earlier reports that the Stranger Things Season 5 finale would skip cinemas, it now appears that the final chapter of Netflix’s hit series will make its big-screen debut.

As shared by Netflix, screenings for the Stranger Things finale will take place in over 350 theaters in the US and Canada. Screenings will start on December 31, 2025, at 5:00 pm PT to coincide with the time of the finale’s global premiere on Netflix. Screenings will run through January 1, 2026.

The final episode of Stranger Things won't be getting a theatrical release, despite clocking in at a feature-length runtime. According to co-creator Matt Duffer, the Stranger Things season 5 finale is "around two hours," but Netflix's chief content officer Bela Bajaria is certain that the episode doesn't need to be screened in multiplexes.