'Stranger Things' S5 Vol 2 gives Netflix big gift on Christmas

As hype for the Stranger Things finale is at fever pitch, Netflix drops the numbers for season five, Volume 2, which says it has the highest viewership on Christmas of all time.

Since its release last week, it has raked in 34.5 million views, coming in second only to the streamer's highest weekly total.

But a Variety report adds that the biggest-ever holiday viewing this year, in addition to Stranger Things season five volume two, also includes streaming NFL games and other titles.

Given the hype surrounding the series, Netflix surprisingly announced that the show would be released in theatres in addition to the streamer.

The finale, titled The Rightside Up, runs for two hours and five minutes. Moreover, Ross Duffer, one of the series creators, reflected in an earlier interview on the threat Eleven would face from the military.

“There is the supernatural threat, which is represented by Vecna this season. But the military has always posed a threat, from Season 1 on," he told Variety, adding, "Even when Brenner is gone, he gets continually replaced by someone else. In this case, in Season 5, by Kay."

To show viewers a contrast, Ross said the team decided to introduce Kali, whose view of how things will end is sharply different from Mike's belief in a 'happy ending.'

“So we needed Kali to represent maybe a more pessimistic, but perhaps realistic, version, compared to Mike’s worldview of we’re gonna have butterflies and rainbows."

"And Kali’s going, ‘How is this going to work? And what is the solution here, that you can live a normal life?’ That’s really a huge part of Eleven’s journey this season," Ross concluded.