‘Stranger Things’ finale turns box office downside up pulling in an estimated $25 million

by

The final episodes of Netflix’s hit show “Stranger Things” boosted movie theater revenue, bringing in around $20 to $25 million, various sources say.

The new supernatural thriller from Matt and Ross Duffer launched on New Year’s Eve both on the streaming service and in around 600 movie theaters, with repeat showings continuing throughout New Year’s Day.

Because of how the actors were paid for reruns (residuals), movie theaters couldn’t sell tickets directly. Instead, fans made reservations and paid for a required food and drink package. AMC and Cinemark charged $20 for these packages, while Regal Cinemas charged $11, a nod to the show’s main character, Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown.

AMC Theatres, the biggest movie theater company globally, closed out showings at 231 of its U.S. locations – representing about a third of all theaters open during the holiday period.

The cinema chain reported over 753,000 people saw a performance at one of its locations over a two-day period, generating more than $15 million in revenue.

Expectations for the theater showing was high.

AMC Theatres is ending the year with a special event: the finale of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” will be shown in many locations this week, on New Year’s Eve and January 1st. According to AMC CEO Adam Aron, who announced the event on December 30th, theaters are filling up quickly, with some showings already sold out, but tickets are still available. He’s curious to see how many tickets AMC will sell for the event.

It was a rare win for the lagging domestic box office.

Hollywood Inc.

Despite a turbulent year, domestic movie ticket sales are projected to be just slightly ahead of last year’s numbers, but still significantly lower – more than 20% – than they were before the pandemic began.

According to Comscore, movie revenue in the U.S. and Canada was predicted to hit $8.87 billion in 2025. This was a slight improvement over 2024, but only 20% higher than revenue before the pandemic.

Most people haven’t been going to the movies this year. By December 25th, ticket sales reached around 760 million, according to EntTelligence, a media data company – noticeably lower than the over 800 million tickets sold in 2024.

Read More

2026-01-02 22:01