Stranger Things Smashes Records With Over $1 Billion in Economic Impact and Billions of Netflix Views
As Netflix prepares to release the final episode of Stranger Things on New Year’s Eve, new numbers show just how massive the series has become, not just in views but also in money.
According to Netflix, the full run of Stranger Things has now passed 1.2 billion total views worldwide. The company measures this by dividing the total time spent watching the show by the length of all episodes. By that count, Stranger Things now stands above every other Netflix series in history. This includes global hits like Wednesday and Squid Game. Netflix shared these figures as Season 5 continues to roll out, with the second and final volume arriving soon.
Season 5 has already been a major success. Volume 1 reached more than 100 million views in less than a month. Netflix data shows the new season has topped weekly charts in almost every country the platform tracks. The strong performance has also pushed viewers back to earlier seasons, keeping all five seasons in Netflix’s global Top 10 weeks after the final season began.
Beyond streaming numbers, Stranger Things has had a huge effect on the U.S. economy. Netflix says the show has created more than 8,000 production jobs since it first premiered in 2016. It has also added about $1.4 billion to the U.S. economy overall. Much of that money went to Georgia, where most of the show was filmed. The state saw around $650 million in economic activity tied to the series. California followed with about $500 million.
The show’s success has also boosted many other industries. Netflix reports that interest in Dungeons & Dragons jumped sharply after the show debuted, with strong growth in sales in the years that followed. Major brands have also benefited. Eggo waffles saw sales rise after becoming linked to the show, and recent Stranger Things snack collaborations reached billions of online impressions.
Music streaming has also played a role in the show’s economic impact. Spotify reports that many older songs featured in the series saw huge spikes in streams, especially among younger listeners. Since the show launched, users have created hundreds of thousands of Stranger Things-themed playlists, helping drive long-term value for artists and labels.
Live events connected to the show have added even more revenue. Stranger Things experiences, stage productions, and fan events have sold hundreds of thousands of tickets across multiple countries. Publishing tied to the series, including books and comics, has also sold millions of copies in the U.S. alone.
Variety summed up the show’s power in a past ranking, writing that “Stranger Things has proven Netflix’s ability to reach a massive global audience, with each season growing bigger than the last.” The numbers released this year seem to back that up.
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