The final episode of *Stranger Things* Season 5 — also known as the series finale — is set for a limited theatrical release in the US and Canada on New Year’s Eve, fulfilling a wish expressed by creators Ross and Matt Duffer.
Shortly after sharing their desire for fans to experience the finale on the big screen, Netflix announced that “The Rightside Up” will premiere both on the streaming platform and in more than 350 movie theaters starting December 31 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. The screenings will continue through January 1, 2026.
### A Theater Experience for the Series Finale
Netflix’s announcement came alongside exciting details about the scale and emotion behind this final season. During a major event unveiling Netflix’s 2025 slate, showrunner Ross Duffer revealed the immense scope of the production:
> “We spent a full year filming this season. By the end, we had captured over 650 hours of footage. So, needless to say, this is our biggest and most ambitious season yet. It’s like eight blockbuster movies. It’s pretty, pretty insane.”
Matt Duffer added:
> “At the same time, we think it’s — or hope it’s — our most personal story. It was super intense and emotional to film for us and for our actors we’ve been with for so long. We’ve been making it together for almost 10 years now. There was a lot of crying. There was so much crying. The show means so much to all of us, and everyone put their hearts and souls into it. And we hope and believe that passion is going to translate to the screen.”
### The Future of the *Stranger Things* Universe
While Season 5 marks the conclusion of the main story, the Duffers emphasized that the *Stranger Things* universe is far from over. Matt shared:
> “There are more *Stranger Things* stories to tell and in the works. It’s a bit early at this point to talk about them, but we’re deeply involved in every one. It’s very important to us that anything with the ‘Stranger Things’ name on it is of the highest quality and not repetitive, that it has a reason to exist and always blazes its own path. And also, it needs to basically just be awesome or we need to think it’s awesome. And there are a lot of what we think are awesome things in the pipeline.”
### Episode Titles and Release Dates
Season 5 will consist of eight episodes, with the following titles revealed:
– Episode 1: “The Crawl”
– Episode 2: “The Vanishing of .”
– Episode 3: “The Turnbow Trap”
– Episode 4: “Sorcerer”
– Episode 5: “Shock Jock”
– Episode 6: “Escape from Camazotz”
– Episode 7: “The Bridge”
– Episode 8: “The Rightside Up”
The release schedule is as follows:
– Volume 1 premieres on **November 26, 2025**
– Volume 2 arrives on **December 25, 2025**
– The series finale screens in theaters and on Netflix on **December 31, 2025**
### New Cast Members
Fans will also see some exciting new faces joining the cast this final season, including Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, Alex Breaux, and the legendary Linda Hamilton.
—
With its blockbuster scale, deeply personal storytelling, and a special theatrical event, *Stranger Things* Season 5 promises to be an unforgettable conclusion—and a new chapter awaits in the expanding *Stranger Things* universe. Stay tuned for more updates!
https://bleedingcool.com/tv/stranger-things-5-series-finale-getting-limited-theatrical-release/