When the Stranger Things series finale arrives on New Year’s Eve, Netflix won’t be the only entrance to the Upside Down. The last episode of the nostalgia-fueled fantasy series will run in theaters.

Netflix announced that the series finale will appear in over 500 movie theaters throughout North America. It will start streaming on Netflix on December 31, 2025, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, and theatrical showings will begin at the same time. The episode will only appear in theaters during a very short window of time on the night of December 31 and January 1, 2026. Fans can find a theater on Netflix’s pop-up website, ST5finale.com.

“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 [Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos], [Chief Content Officer 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.”

“I know we’ve talked about the theatrical experience, but Ross and I never asked Netflix to do it because it just never really made sense to me,” Matt Duffer said. “It only is cool if everyone’s experiencing it for the first time together. So when Netflix came to us with the idea of having the finale premiere on its own, then that was when we suggested the idea of doing it theatrically because it would really function like a movie.”

Titled “The Rightside Up,” it is the eighth episode of season five and is directed by series creators Matt and Ross Duffer. The Duffers also announced that the finale will have a runtime of two hours and five minutes, making it one of the longest episodes of the series.

Stranger Things returned on November 26, 2025, airing the first four episodes in the fifth and final season. It picks up 18 months after Vecna created massive fissures between our world and the Upside Down. The new episodes show Eleven training for the big final confrontation, Will learning more about his connection to Vecna, the military studying the situation, and the whole gang searching for Vecna to stop him.

Episodes 5-7 will start streaming on Netflix on Christmas, December 25.