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Although viewers may tease “Stranger Things” for its long gaps between seasons and the disorienting aging of its main child cast<\/a>, the series is undeniably a major hit. It’s referenced everywhere, its merchandise can be found at seemingly every major store, and the release of each new season shares a similar vibe to the release of a massive box office-shattering blockbuster.<\/p>\n But how much money has the series actually made? It’s hard to tell exactly with streaming shows, but the available data sure implies it’s made a fortune. According to\u00a0data firm Parrot Analytics\u00a0(via TIME Magazine)<\/a>, the series has earned an estimated “2 million new subscribers and over $1 billion in revenue for Netflix since 2020.”<\/p>\n It’s important to note that season 1 of “Stranger Things” aired four years earlier in 2016, where it became an instant smash success. In fact, with season 3 airing in 2019 and season 5 not even out yet, that $1 billion estimate is even more impressive: it comes during a period where the show only aired one season, or nine episodes. By the time season 5 wraps up, the show’s total lifetime revenue should be well over $2 billion.<\/p>\n The massive financial success of “Stranger Things” is what’s helped justify the show’s ballooning budget. Season 5 is rumored to have cost<\/a> around $50 to $60 million an episode, numbers nearly unheard of in the TV industry. “It’s a little scary,” Matt Duffer, co-creator of the series, told TIME. “It puts pressure on every season because it has to perform better than the one before it to continue to justify growing the scale of the show.”<\/p>\n