Stranger Things 5 Volume 2 Drops Christmas Day: Everything You Need to Know
Christmas just got weird. Stranger Things 5 Volume 2 hits Netflix tomorrow at 8 PM Eastern and if youre not caught up on Volume 1 you better get moving.
Three more episodes dropping December 25th. Then the massive 2-hour-plus finale on New Years Eve. This is it – the end of Hawkins.
The Release Schedule
Netflix Tudum confirms the breakdown:
– Volume 1 (Episodes 1-4): Released November 26
– Volume 2 (Episodes 5-7): December 25 at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT
– The Finale (Episode 8): December 31 at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT
All episodes release simultaneously worldwide. Check Netflix’s countdown clock if youre in a different time zone.
How Long Are These Episodes
Big. These are basically movies. Hollywood Reporter confirms Volume 2 episode runtimes are pushing close to two hours each.
The finale clocks in at 2 hours and 5 minutes. Thats longer than most Marvel movies.
Ross Duffer teased the Volume 2 episodes: “Shock Jock picks up moments after the end of Sorcerer… its far darker, and far scarier.” Director Frank Darabont is back for that one. “Escape from Camazotz” is apparently “the biggest episode of the three” and “makes us cry every time we watch it.”
Cool cool cool no emotional preparation needed.
You Can Watch the Finale in Theaters
Not kidding. Netflix is doing theatrical screenings of the finale in over 500 theaters across the US and Canada starting December 31st at 8 PM ET – same time it drops on streaming.
Marie Claire reports screenings run through January 1st 2026. Visit ST5Finale.com for locations.
The Duffer Brothers called it “something weve dreamed about for years” and “the perfect – dare we say bitchin – way to celebrate the end of this adventure.”
Where We Left Off
Volume 1 set up the final confrontation with Vecna. Hawkins is scarred from the Rifts. The party is reunited with one goal: find and kill Vecna before he destroys everything.
Matt Duffer told Deadline that Volume 2 will “answer more and more why Will was kidnapped and how it ties in with Holly and all of this. Everything sort of comes full circle.”
Were finally going to learn what the Upside Down actually is. After five seasons.
Budget and Scale
Each episode reportedly cost $50-60 million to make. The full season hit around $400-480 million total. Thats blockbuster money for a streaming show.
For context thats more expensive per episode than most prestige HBO productions. Netflix clearly went all-in on sending this show off properly.
Set your alarms. Stock your snacks. Tomorrow we feast.
