After growing Stranger Things (pictured) into the third most-popular series on Netflix—and a perennial favorite among kids and teens—the streamer revealed that it’s going to release the much-anticipated series finale in theaters. 

The SVOD revealed today that more than 350 theaters in the US and Canada will screen the two-hour finale on December 31 (a day-and-date release with Netflix) and January 1. 

Stranger Things has racked up more than 140.7 million views on Netflix, and it’s one of the few franchises from the streamer that has received an extensive licensing and merchandising push.

Once allergic to theatrical releases, it’s safe to say that 2025 has been a turning point in how Netflix looks at theaters, embracing them more as a way to reach kids and families. Just look at KPop Demon Hunters, which is getting a theatrical release not just once but twice, with the sing-along version returning to theaters from October 31 to November 2. Plus there’s Netflix Animation and Kuku Studios’ film In Your Dreams, which is getting a limited release on November 7 before its November 14 launch on the platform.  

And this isn’t the only big news today for the theatrical experience. IMAX just announced that it saw a global box office surge in Q3—US$368 million compared with US$239 million last year. The exhibitor is set to have a blockbuster Q4, too, thanks to upcoming kids and family films like Zooptopia 2, Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire & Ash. 

All this begs the question: What’s going to be the biggest family box office smash this quarter? 

Here’s a little info on the upcoming kids and family titles heading to theaters this holiday season. Vote to let us know which one you think will win the box office. 

• Stitch Head (October 29): Just in time for Halloween, this gothic adventure based on the six-book series by Guy Bass is about a young creature who has to protect a mad professor’s creations from suspicious townsfolk living nearby. Aniventure, Gringo Films and Fabrique d’Images are producing the 91-minute CG-animated film.

• Wicked: For Good (November 21): This live-action musical sequel to 2024’s Broadway adaptation Wicked from Universal Pictures continues its sympathetic take on the Wicked Witch of the West. 

• Zootopia 2 (November 26): Walt Disney Animation Studios’ animated sequel to Zootopia (a film that cracked more than US$1 billion at the box office after its 2016 premiere) follows two animals (one a cop, the other a criminal) teaming up to investigate a mysterious reptile. 

• The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (December 19): The fourth theatrical film based on the smash-hit cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, this CG-animated adventure from Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies sees SpongeBob go on a quest to battle the Flying Dutchman. 

• Avatar: Fire & Ash (December 19): The latest chapter of James Cameron’s epic sci-fi series sees the main characters encounter an aggressive tribe that they come into conflict with. Both previous Avatar films eventually grossed more than US$2 billion at the global box office. 

• David (December 19): Angel Studios’ CG-animated film is a retelling of the biblical David & Goliath story. Angel might not be a major studio, but this company got its last faith-based family feature The King of Kings into more than 3,000 theaters and it grossed more than US$77 million worldwide. 

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