Stranger Things 5 Finale, The Life of Chuck: Your 2025 Christmas Streaming Guide

Overwhelmed by your streaming options this holiday? Don't waste another hour scrolling through Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max. We've scoured the week's new releases to bring you a curated list of what's actually worth your time. From buzzy franchise sequels to the grand finales of beloved series, here's what to watch as 2025 comes to a close.

From Box Office Hits to Critical Darlings

While it was a smash at the box office, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 didn't win over critics. Mashable's review notes that the sequel, like the first film, suffers from "a deadly amount of talking, with too little scares, jokes, or surprises." For those seeking something more unconventional, The Carpenter's Son features Nicolas Cage as Joseph in a religious horror film exploring a teenage Jesus's early understanding of his power.

Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone have teamed up again for Bugonia, a remake of the Korean film Save the Green Planet! In it, a conspiracy theorist played by Jesse Plemons kidnaps a pharma CEO (Stone) he believes is an alien. Critics have been divided, with some finding its mix of hot-button topics like environmentalism and oligarchy to be a "dizzying brew" that lacks profundity.

The Must-Sees and Grand Finales

Don't miss one of the most acclaimed films of the year: Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck, based on a Stephen King novella. Starring Tom Hiddleston, the film premieres Dec. 26 on Hulu and has been called "glorious" and "masterfully told" by critics. Elsewhere, the scorchingly sexy and unsettling noir thriller Love Lies Bleeding, starring Kristen Stewart, is now available on MUBI.

Finally, the moment millions have been waiting for. Stranger Things, Season 5: Volume 2 premieres on Netflix on Dec. 25 at 8 p.m. ET. The penultimate batch of episodes aims to answer burning questions from Volume 1, such as Will's newfound powers and Vecna's plan for Hawkins. The series finale will then air on Dec. 31.