Over 40 Million People Watched 'Stranger Things 3' Over The Holiday Weekend

The one thing that isn't strange this year is Stranger Things breaking Netflix's own streaming records. Stranger Things 3 viewership punched through into a new dimension this past holiday weekend, with 40 million accounts tuning into the third season of the hit sci-fi/horror series, breaking Netflix's four-day viewing record.

Netflix headquarters is probably launching a few fireworks of their own, as the Fourth of July release of Stranger Things 3 paid off in spades for the streaming giant. The service announced Monday that the '80s-set series has been watched by 40.7 million household accounts since its Fourth of July launch and that 18.2 million accounts have already binged the entire season.

"[Stranger Things 3] is breaking Netflix records!" Netflix's Twitter account posted. "40.7 million household accounts have been watching the show since its July 4 global launch — more than any other film or series in its first four days. And 18.2 million have already finished the entire season."

.@Stranger_Things 3 is breaking Netflix records!

40.7 million household accounts have been watching the show since its July 4 global launch — more than any other film or series in its first four days. And 18.2 million have already finished the entire season.

— Netflix (@netflix) July 8, 2019

These are big numbers — for comparison, the Game of Thrones series finale set a ratings record for HBO with 19.3 million viewers. The HBO fantasy series was a cultural phenomenon that averaged 44.2 million viewers per episode in gross audience, but that's based on estimates. Meanwhile, Stranger Things season 2 has 40.7 million total — though that's if you trust Netflix's non-transparent ratings announcements.

According to Deadline, the ratings company Nielsen, which started measuring Netflix viewership on TVs in 2017, reported that the first episode of season 2 averaged 15.8 million U.S. viewers and nearly 11 million in the demo viewing on the TV. The measurement service said "a significant viewing event occurred," with all episodes of season 2 averaging 4 million viewers and 3 million in the demo. Nielsen hasn't yet reported its numbers for season 3, but we can likely expect it to be in the same range as Netflix's viewership announcement.

Matt and Ross Duffer created Stranger Things, which stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Noah Schnapp, and Joe Keery.