Netflix is about to write a new chapter for its most iconic original series Stranger Things. According to reports from Variety, this eight-year spanning coming-of-age sci-fi saga will conclude with its fifth season, and the final chapter The Rightside Up is set to premiere in theaters on December 31, 2025. This isn’t just a special event or limited screening; it will officially debut in select U.S. cinemas, marking the first time Netflix allows a major series to be publicly screened in theaters before it hits the streaming platform.
As the grand finale of the entire series, this approximately two-hour long feature will screen at 5 PM Pacific Time and 8 PM Eastern Time, a few hours ahead of its official release time on Netflix—midnight on January 1, 2026. This means that some viewers will have the chance to witness the ultimate fate of Hawkins on the big screen before anyone else. The shift from previously only scheduling theatrical releases for films like Glass Onion or The Pale Blue Eye to now bringing series-level content to cinemas marks a strategic breakthrough for Netflix and could potentially set a new standard for the future of content distribution.
This decision has garnered attention because earlier reports indicated that Netflix had no plans to release the final episode of Stranger Things in theaters. Thus, this announcement has turned into an unexpected surprise, possibly aimed at capitalizing on the buzz surrounding the show’s conclusion and further broadening its audience.
Netflix has simultaneously announced that Season 5 of Stranger Things will be released in three phases. The first batch of episodes (Episodes 1 to 4) is scheduled to go live on November 26, 2025, followed by Episodes 5 to 7, which will be released on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025. As for the two-hour grand finale The Rightside Up, it will be available on the platform starting January 1, 2026. Since Netflix typically begins streaming at 3 AM Eastern Time on launch days, those who have already seen it in theaters will get to experience the finale nearly seven hours earlier than most viewers.
For audiences on the West Coast, you can start watching the platform version around midnight on New Year’s Eve, allowing you to countdown to the New Year in sync with the final battle in Hawkins, adding a unique sense of ritual.
Currently, the first four seasons of Stranger Things are available on Netflix, totaling 34 episodes that continue to attract high viewership and a strong fanbase. As the fifth season marks the conclusion of the series, viewers are not only looking forward to tying up the storylines but are also curious about potential adjustments Netflix might make to its original series release strategy in the future.
