The Stranger Things prequel play, The First Shadow, has broken box office records days before the show’s final episode is released. The sci-fi series has become a pop culture phenomenon over the past nine years and is one of Netflix’s biggest TV shows ever.

Stranger Things season 5‘s first seven episodes are currently available to stream, with the series finale arriving on New Year’s Eve.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow grossed over $2.5 million for the week of December 23-28, according to Deadline. The most recent box office high for the play was the week prior, when it earned $1.9 million.

Deadline noted that the past week featured nine performances of The First Shadow at the Marquis Theatre in New York City, when Broadway plays and musicals typically run eight times a week. That aside, two main factors have contributed to The First Shadow‘s recent success.

The first is that December is one of the busiest times of the year in New York City, and tourists have been flocking to the Big Apple to take in the sights and see some Broadway shows.

Also, the final season of Stranger Things rolling out in batches over the past several weeks has created unusually high interest in the TV show, and The First Shadow play has reaped the benefits as a result.

Stranger Things wasn’t the only Broadway spectacle that benefited from the holiday season. Four shows surpassed The First Shadow at the box office over the past week: Wicked ($4.4 million), The Lion King ($3.9 million), Hamilton ($3.8 million) and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($3.7 million).

Other shows in the Top 10 for the week included Aladdin ($2.4 million), MJ: The Musical ($2.2 million), Mamma Mia! ($2.07 million), The Great Gatsby ($1.8 million) and The Outsiders ($1.66 million).

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a prequel that centers around Henry Creel, who moves to Hawkins in 1959. His presence upends the usually quiet town, including its residents, some of whom will be very familiar to fans of the TV show.

Younger versions of characters like Joyce Maldonado (before she was Joyce Byers), Jim Hopper, Dr. Brenner, Ted and Karen Wheeler, and Charles and Sue Sinclair are all featured in the play.

The storyline in The First Shadow has connections to Stranger Things season 5 that are finally paying off now that the final season is being released.

After its West End debut in 2023 and winning two Laurence Olivier Awards (for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, and Best Set Design), The First Shadow debuted on Broadway in 2025 and won four Tonys, including Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play, Best Sound Design of a Play and the Special Tony Award.

Critics have praised the play’s on-stage effects, which make The First Shadow a visually thrilling experience.

The Stranger Things series finale will be released Wednesday, December 31 at 8 p.m. EST on Netflix and in movie theaters.