The final season of “Stranger Things” is breaking records for streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and could provide a boost to fourth-quarter financial results. The final episode could also boost movie theater stocks like AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) and Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE:CNK), marking a rare win for both movie theaters and streaming.
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Netflix split the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” into three parts, with episodes released the night before Thanksgiving, on Christmas Day, and the upcoming final episode to be released on New Year’s Eve.
Along with the episode being available for Netflix subscribers at 8 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve, the final episode will also play in select theaters.
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Originally set to play in a few hundred theaters, Deadline reports that theaters from AMC, Cinemark, Regal and others are continuing to add showtimes for the episode. There are over 3,500 showtimes across more than 620 theaters.
Over 1.1 million people have reserved their seats for showings. Unlike traditional movie showings, the “Stranger Things” episode will be free, with moviegoers paying a reservation fee for their seat, which converts into a concession voucher.
For AMC, this is a reported $20 reservation that turns into concession goods. AMC has reported strong food and beverage per-person averages in recent quarters, with a third-quarter average of $7.74, the second-highest in company history. The concession voucher method could provide a significant boost to fourth-quarter food and beverage totals and per-person averages.
Netflix may not collect as much revenue from the playing of “Stranger Things,” but it now has a working partnership with AMC, the largest movie theater company in the world. When Netflix showed its hit animated film “KPOP Demon Hunters” in theaters earlier this year, AMC chose not to show the movie.
The movie grossed an estimated $18 million from two days on an estimated 1,700 screens and could have made even more if AMC was involved. AMC showed the movie later during the year during a second theatrical run for the hit Netflix film.
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Showing the “Stranger Things” finale in theaters could boost movie theaters, which are currently enjoying a strong slate of films to close out 2025.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” has grossed $216.9 million domestically and $761.6 million worldwide, ranking 10th domestically and 6th worldwide in 2025, despite its December premiere.
November releases of “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” rank fifth and sixth, respectively, for domestic gross in 2025.
AMC recently reported 5.5 million people watched a movie on one of its screens worldwide from Thursday through Sunday during the week of Christmas. The company said this was its second busiest week of the year worldwide and the busiest weekend of the year for its international markets.
The movie theater company is likely to get a strong boost from the fourth quarter with several of the year’s highest-grossing films released near the end of the year, and the potential boost from “Stranger Things.”
“We expect the fourth quarter industrywide box office will turn out to be the highest-grossing fourth quarter in six years,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said after third-quarter financial results. “We also continue to believe that the size of the 2026 box office will be dramatically larger than that achieved in 2025.”
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Netflix is likely to benefit from the release of “Stranger Things” in the fourth quarter, alongside seasons of other hit shows and the live airing of two National Football League games on Christmas Day.
Netflix is guiding for fourth-quarter revenue to be $11.96 billion, up 16.7% year-over-year. The Street estimate is $11.902 billion according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company said it expects fourth-quarter growth to come from higher membership figures, higher pricing and increased advertising revenue.
Netflix is guiding for fourth quarter earnings per share of $5.45, versus a Street estimate of $5.42.
The company is on track to more than double its advertising revenue in 2025.
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This article ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Could Boost Both Netflix, AMC Stocks: Here’s How originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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