©Deadline - NetflixThis is by far the highest weekly viewership ever for a streaming title, with more than 1 billion minutes difference from the previous record — which was also held by Stranger Things. When season four premiered in 2022, the series gathered 7.2 billion viewing minutes.
Nielsen does not break down the figures by season, but did reveal that 57% of the total came from the new episodes of season five and that 59% of the viewers were between 18 and 49 years old.
A direct comparison to the previous season is challenging, as Netflix launched season five on a Wednesday at 8:00 PM (U.S. time), while season four debuted on a Friday at 3:00 AM (U.S. time).
Still, the result is impressive, especially since the figure covers just over four days of availability — and only four episodes were released. Three years ago, seven episodes of season four were released simultaneously, and the record was only reached in the first full week of availability (May 30–June 5). In the first three days, season four then achieved 5.14 billion viewing minutes.
According to Nielsen, the hype around the final season began weeks before the release. Stranger Things reappeared as number 3 in Nielsen’s Top 10 in the week of November 3 with 921 million viewing minutes, climbed to number 1 the following week with 1.3 billion, and maintained that position in the week before the premiere with 1.6 billion minutes.
This promises a massive viewing boost around Christmas and New Year's Eve when Netflix rolls out the final episodes of the series. Although the Nielsen reports are a month behind, Netflix — just like with the first four episodes — will publish its own viewership figures for the remaining episodes in the coming weeks.
Despite the heavy competition, Paramount+ managed to stand out with the third episode of Landman season two, while Netflix series The Beast in Me also broke through. Landman ended in second place with 1.34 billion viewing minutes, followed by The Beast in Me in third place with 1.06 billion.
