‘Stranger Things’ Shatters Nielsen Top 10 Record With Season 5 Premiere, Scoring 8.5 Billion Minutes

“Stranger Things” broke its own record with the premiere of Season 5. During the week of Nov. 24, the Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi thriller secured 8.46 billion viewing minutes, shattering Nielsen’s previous Top 10 record for the biggest weekly viewing total by a streaming title by over 1 billion minutes.

By the way, that previous record was also held by “Stranger Things.” In late May of 2022 — a week after Season 4 premiered — the drama saw 7.2 billion viewing minutes during the week. Because of the way Nielsen’s measurement works, these metrics reflect “Stranger Things” viewership across all seasons. So people watched 8.46 billion minutes of “Stranger Things” in total, not 8.46 billion minutes of Season 5.

Still, viewership for Season 5 accounted for a majority of the show’s overall viewership. The first four episodes of the season, which encompass Volume 1 of the three-part Season 5, represented 57% of “Stranger Things” viewership during the week of Nov. 24. Roughly 59% of those viewers were adults aged 18 to 49, which is largely considered to be the most coveted demographic among advertisers. “Stranger Things” had the largest percentage of the demo during the week’s Top 10 titles.

The weeks leading up to Season 5’s premiere also saw an increase in interest around the title. During the week of Nov. 3, “Stranger Things” reemerged on Nielsen’s Top 10 list at No. 3 with 921 million minutes. It then jumped to the No. 1 spot the week of Nov. 10 with 1.345 billion minutes and maintained that spot the week of Nov. 17, a week in which the series totaled 1.683 billion minutes.

It was also a big week for Paramount+. The second season of “Landman” Season 2 propelled the Taylor Sheridan original into the No. 2 spot for the week when it came to both originals and overall viewership, accounting for 1.34 billion minutes. The third spot was taken by Netflix’s “The Beast in Me,” which saw 1.06 billion minutes. “The Beast in Me” was also the only other title to cross the billion minute mark during the week in question.

There were a few other notable entries during the week of Nov. 24. Kevin Hart’s comedy special “Acting My Age” premiered in 10th place on Nielsen’s originals list, scoring 405 million minutes. With 42%, it had the highest concentration of Black viewers of any Top 10 title during the week in question. Showtime’s thriller “Homeland” jumped to the No. 1 spot on the acquired list with 855 million minutes and placed No. 5 on Nielsen’s overall Top 10 list for the week. Women aged 18 and older were the primary driver of that one, comprising 57% of the audience.

“Bob’s Burgers” also hit a milestone during the week, scoring its 75th appearance on Nielsen’s acquired Top 10 chart. During this interval, it had the highest composition of adults aged 18 to 34 (41%) across any title in the Top 10. Both “Bob’s Burgers” and “Family Guy” are consistently in competition when it comes to leading this demographic.

Finally and most predictably, the week of Thanksgiving kicked off Christmas viewership. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on Peacock was the most-watched holiday title during the week, scoring 669 million minutes. It was followed by Netflix’s “Jingle Bell Heist” with 549 million minutes, “Home Alone” on Disney+ with 499 million minutes and “Elf” on HBO Max with 397 million minutes.

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