On New Year’s Eve, Stranger Things: The Finale debuted simultaneously on the streamer and in roughly 600 cinemas — more than a third belonged to AMC, the country and world’s largest chain — before holding encore showings throughout New Year’s Day. At AMC alone, the theater giant said that The Finale earned $15 million from the $20 food and beverage credits purchased.
The total summation for all theaters showing may have been near $30 mil.. a true cultural moment..
MORE…
Netflix didn’t have to worry about reporting grosses for Stranger Things, since fans reserved a seat by purchasing a concession voucher directly from the theaters.
AMC and Cinemark Theatres both charged $20, plus fees in certain instances.
Regal Cinemas and several others charged $11, a reference to the name of the show’s lead character.
Earlier this week, the Duffers said on social media that 1.1 million vouchers had been sold. By New Year’s Day, Steve Buck’s leading research and exit polling firm EntTelligence showed admissions at 1.3 million…
The other day, we said goodbye to Stranger Things. We actually posted something here thanking the show and its creators for a full decade of memories—anticipation, fan theories, speculation, and fun. And it’s worth reminding ourselves: at the end of the day, this is a TV show. In this case, maybe one of the most important television shows ever made—but it’s still fiction.
However… Over the past 48 hours, a lot of fans have become enamored with a possibility now being called Conformity Gate.
Here’s the theory: the final episode of Stranger Things wasn’t quite right. There was too much conformity as the happy endings unfolded—especially during the Hawkins High graduation scene. To many fans, that ceremony didn’t represent freedom at all, but rather suggested that everyone was still a prisoner of Vecna, their minds quietly under his control.
People have pointed out that during the graduation, the students all sit with their hands folded in the exact same way—just like Vecna. The audience behind them mirrors the posture too. There’s also renewed talk about unreleased footage—specifically a Mike and Will basement scene that fans have demanded access to for years. The Duffer Brothers have told Variety that there really isn’t much cut footage and that this scene may not even exist. But that hasn’t stopped the speculation.
So what we’re left with is a familiar and fascinating mix: clues, theories, and the same kind of obsessive deep-dives we’ve been doing for ten years now. Hidden gems in trailers. Posters. Morse code. Radio stations. Easter eggs layered on top of Easter eggs. All the breadcrumbs the Duffers trained us to follow.
But the real question is: should we still be following them? Is there any chance Conformity Gate is actually real?
Here’s some screenshots without endorsements from the most fun speculation of all.
Here’s what we do know. There are spin-offs coming. One of them could explain why the old man in the cave had a suitcase containing the rock that infected Henry. We also know there’s an animated series coming to Netflix—and the beauty of animation is that kids don’t have to age. They can stay young forever if you want them to. And let’s be honest, there are probably more spin-offs on the way.
I’ll admit this: after seeing Stranger Things in a theater—by the way, I successfully avoided social media for 24 hours before watching it in IMAX—I floated a theory to some friends. When Hopper says he’s moving to Montauk, what if he knows Eleven is alive? What if he has her? What if he got a deal he couldn’t refuse, backed by the government, to leave Hawkins and relocate so experimentation could continue elsewhere? After all, it was the ’80s. The Cold War was winding down. The Soviet Union was nearing collapse.
Maybe that’s a silly theory. But there have been plenty of silly theories over the years.. and that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Why not join in?
But there is one that got me. One of the Conformity gate theories asks why there’s no leaves on trees and why during the graduation scene in May it looks like it’s in the autumn. Could this be a true continuity failure or perhaps, should we dive deeper.
And maybe this is the biggest sign of all that we’re going to miss the hell out of this show. For the last two days, Conformity Gate has been fun. We’ve been anxiously hopeful that WSQK might come back, even though it’s been taken off the air and the only hint of future activity seems to be possible merchandising. But all of this just proves how uniquely powerful this show was. Stranger Things united us.
But then again back to the conspiracy why did the binders change in the final episode? Continuity area yet again or are we being messed with because there’s no coincidences like Lucas told us when he broke the fourth wall..
It brought people together on forums, websites, and social media in ways no one expected. People became friends who never would have crossed paths otherwise. Just like Dustin said during his graduation speech. In their fictional world, the events in Hawkins brought people together unexpectedly. The same thing happened in the real world.
I don’t think we’re ever going to see another show like this in our lifetime. There will be other great movies and shows. There will be water-cooler moments. But this one was different. We knew it was special while it was happening.
And now that it’s gone, there’s a deep sense of loss. Watching the final scenes play out in a packed theater was something I won’t forget. People applauded. And then, during that last wave of nostalgia, the room went quiet. Adults and kids alike. Walking down the theater steps afterward, there was this somber hush. It wasn’t a funeral march—we were grateful—but it felt like a funeral in one important way: something was gone that we can’t get back.
The magic of waiting for each season. I remember exactly where I was in 2016. I remember the summer of 2019 when Season 3 dropped and everything felt lighter and more fun. I remember where I was when Season 4 released. This show marked time in our lives. It mattered.
So if the Duffer Brothers were clever enough to hide a twisted ending and Conformity Gate turns out to be real.. bring it on. I won’t complain about extra footage or another chapter. But realistically, I think it’s over.
Except… it’s never really over with us, is it? Sometimes these spin-offs work. Often they don’t. But because we fell in love with Stranger Things, we’ll give each one a chance.
