The fifth season of «Stranger Things» has not yet been fully released, but has already surpassed its own achievement from the fourth season.
Netflix previously reported that the first part of the fifth and final season of the series, consisting of four episodes, attracted 59 million viewers worldwide after its release on November 26. Then the total figure increased by another 23.6 million views and continues to increase.
Now, the analytical company Nielsen, which measures the audience of television and streaming services, has recorded a new absolute record. During the reporting week from November 24 to November 30, «Stranger Things» scored 8.46 billion minutes of viewing — the best result in the history of Nielsen streaming measurements. It is noteworthy that only four full days were included in the calculation, since the release took place in the middle of the week.
At the same time, the statistics take into account all 38 episodes of the series, since Nielsen traditionally does not divide projects into seasons. The report specifically clarifies that 57% of the total viewing time fell on the new episodes of the fifth season — this is about 4.82 billion minutes in the first four days after the release.
For comparison, the second place in the Nielsen weekly ranking for the period from November 24 to November 30 was taken by the Paramount+ series «Landman» with 1.34 billion minutes of viewing, and the third place was taken by the Netflix mini-series «Monster Inside Me» with a score of 1.059 billion minutes.
Analysts note that the release on the eve of Thanksgiving turned out to be a strategically sound move. The mass audience received additional weekends, and Netflix received record engagement rates. The sequel is just around the corner: the second part of the season will be released on the platform on December 26, and the final episode will be available on January 1.
