Streaming giant Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) has a new record on its hand thanks to strong demand for the highly anticipated fifth and final season of "Stranger Things." The record adds to excitement building for what the company calls a strong fourth-quarter content lineup.
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Netflix Breaks Record
The fifth season of "Stranger Things," which was released on Wednesday, Nov. 26, now holds the record for the top premiere week of any English-language show on Netflix, topping the previous record holder, “Wednesday.”
"Stranger Things 5 is the #1 SHOW IN THE WORLD. With 59.6 million views, it also boasts the biggest premiere week ever for an English-language show in the history of Netflix," the company tweeted Tuesday.
Netflix reported 59.6 million views for the show in its first partial week of streaming and 284.2 million hours viewed by streamers.
The show ranked first in 90 of its 93 territories and was in the top 10 for all 93 territories for the week.
Along with the fifth season ranking first, Netflix also saw all four other seasons of "Stranger Things" rank in the top 10 for global viewership among English-language shows. Here are the rankings:
- 3rd: Stranger Things Season 1 – 8.9 million views, 61.0 million hours viewed
- 5th: Stranger Things Season 4 – 6.1 million views, 79.5 million hours viewed
- 6th: Stranger Things Season 2 – 5.6 million views, 44.2 million hours viewed
- 8th: Stranger Things Season 3 – 4.6 million views, 34.7 million hours viewed
This marks the third-best viewership for a premiere week of any series on Netflix, trailing only the second and third seasons of "Squid Game," according to Variety.
First week viewership for the fifth season also showed a sizable increase from the viewership of the first week of the fourth season. The fourth season premiered with 287 million hours watched. While Netflix didn't previously break out number of viewers, Variety estimates the total at around 22 million views.
By that data, the fifth season premiere week viewers were up 171%. The fifth season had five days in its premiere week, while the fourth season had only three days.
Read Also: Netflix Q3 Earnings Miss, But Record Ad Sales And Viewership Signal Strong Q4 Momentum
First Quarter Record Anticipated
While "Stranger Things" set a viewership record in December, Netflix is hoping it will report a different record in 2026 when it reports fourth-quarter financial results.
Analysts expect Netflix to report fourth-quarter revenue of $11.96 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro. That estimate is up from $10.25 billion in last year's first quarter and from the record revenue of $11.51 billion reported in this year's third quarter.
While the third quarter revenue was a record, it narrowly missed analyst estimates, marking the company's first revenue miss from analyst estimates in nine quarters.
The third quarter saw record revenue, advertising revenue and viewership, metrics that could be beaten in the fourth quarter.
It's important to remember that "Stranger Things" is being released in three parts for the fifth season, including more than 500 movie theaters showing the final episode on Dec. 31, including some AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) locations.
The future “Stranger Things” season 5 parts will be released on Dec. 25 with three episodes and on Dec. 31 with one episode. The episodes premiere at 8 p.m. ET on the respective dates.
Also, keep in mind that Netflix has two Christmas Day NFL games: the Dallas Cowboys versus the Washington Commanders at 1 p.m. ET and the Detroit Lions versus the Minnesota Vikings at 4:30 p.m. ET.
This means that Netflix will have premium content for subscribers from 1 p.m. until potentially midnight, depending on the length of the three “Stranger Things” episodes that are released.
Netflix averaged 24 million viewers for its two Christmas Day 2024 NFL games with 65 million Americans watching at least a portion of one of its two games during the day.
Along with "Stranger Things" and NFL games in the fourth quarter, Netflix also has a content slate that it said should excite subscribers.
For fourth quarter content, the company highlighted “Stranger Things,” “The Diplomat,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Frankenstein,” “A House of Dynamite,” “Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2” and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.”
“We can’t wait for our members to experience our Q4 slate," the company previously said.
Netflix could see increased advertising revenue in the fourth quarter thanks to the NFL games and more subscribers for its ad-supported plans. The streamer may also have seen some old subscribers return due to "Stranger Things."
Netflix Stock Off From Highs
Netflix stock closed Tuesday at $109.35 versus a 52-week trading range of $82.11 to $134.12. Netflix stock is up 23.2% year-to-date in 2025. All-time highs were previously set in June with shares above $134.
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Photo: Courtesy Netflix
