Time to reconfigure your plans for the new year, as the “Stranger Things” series finale is headed to the big screen on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Screenings for the final episode of one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever will take place in over 350 theaters in the U.S. and Canada starting on New Year’s Eve, the same day the finale drops on Netflix. Showtimes will begin at 5 p.m. PT and run through the following day.
Despite prior rumors circulating, the deal to bring the finale to the big screen has been in the works for some time, according to an individual familiar with the matter.
“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 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.”
Now Netflix is giving fans what they really want by offering the finale on their streaming service and in theaters at the same time. More information about theater chains, markets and how fans can attend will be released in the coming weeks.
Netflix has been toying around with its theatrical strategy lately. Over the Halloween weekend, Netflix’s animated blockbuster “KPop Demon Hunters” will be returning to theaters, with costumes strongly encouraged, and Guillermo del Toro has touted that his gothic “Frankenstein,” which had sold out screenings in a handful of theaters over the weekend, would expand its theatrical output this week. Additionally, Greta Gerwig secured an IMAX release for her upcoming “Chronicles of Narnia” movie.
But the “Stranger Things” finale being in theaters does feel like a true paradigm shift, with a series that has streamed, exclusively, on the platform for the past decade finally getting a big-screen glow up. Could that open the door for more projects to make the leap? Or is this a special sendoff to perhaps Netflix’s most beloved original series (and the creators that turned it into a phenomenon)?
“Stranger Things 5” will premiere in three chunks over the winter holidays, with the first four episodes streaming on Nov. 26; the next three on Christmas Day; and the finale on New Year’s Eve. All episodes will debut at 5 p.m. PT.
