Netflix reports record streaming numbers for 'Stranger Things'

The third series of Netflix teen sci-fi hit Stranger Things is pulling in record numbers, according to the streaming service.

It claims that 40.7 million households have been watching the show since it started its new season on July 4.

Netflix says that that beats the viewing figures of any other film or TV series over its first four days on release.

Read more: Record breaking numbers for Netflix’s Murder Mystery

It adds that 18.2 million users have already binged the entire season.

When Netflix has announced previous record viewing figures, it's confirmed that it means over 70 percent of the episode or movie has been watched by the user account, and while it's not specified that in this case, that generally seems to be its metric for success.

However, as Netflix’s numbers are not yet independently verified, we’ve only its word on this.

That said, it appears to have trounced recent records from Adam Sandler's Murder Mystery, which pulled in just over 30 million viewers over a single weekend, and Sandra Bullock thriller Bird Box, which drew 26 million views in a week.

The new series has also almost beaten The Umbrella Academy's total number of streams. It managed 45 million in all, with Stranger Things pulling that in over just four days.

But there's already been some controversy over this latest series, notably the behaviour of David Harbour's local sheriff Jim Hopper.

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Critics have pulled writers up on his deceiving Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers into a date, his jealous rages and generally manipulative behaviour.

Actress Evan Rachel Wood of Westworld fame even weighed in on the matter.

Stranger Things is streaming now on Netflix.