The latest series of '80s nostalgia-fest Stranger Things has achieved a record-breaking launch on Netflix, the streaming giant has said.

Since season three of the sci-fi series dropped on 4 July, some 40.7 million accounts have tuned in - more than for any other film or TV series on the platform in a four-day opening period.

Image: Netflix says the latest series has broken records for a four-day opening period

And 18.2 million have already watched all eight episodes.

Stranger Things stars British actress Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, or El, a child with psychokinetic powers who helps her friends fight off a mystery evil in their small hometown of Hawkins, Indiana.

The series, also starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour and Finn Wolfhard, is famed for its '80s pop culture references and this latest season is no exception, with nods to Jaws, Back To The Future, The Neverending Story and more.


And with El starting to take an interest in fashion, fans have been rushing online to get the Stranger Things look.

The show is hugely popular, with a score of 8.9 on film and TV database site IMDB.

However, Netflix has faced some criticism for being selective about the statistics it releases, usually only touting its most successful productions.

The company has now said it is exploring the idea of sharing more data with the public.

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An account is judged to have watched a TV series if it has viewed at least 70% of one episode of a season.

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay said last month that Netflix had told her more than 23 million accounts worldwide had watched her series about the Central Park Five, When They See Us.

The service also recently said more than 30 million accounts worldwide watched the Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler film Murder Mystery in its first three days of release, giving it the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix film.

Benjamin King, Netflix's director of public policy in the UK, said: "We are certainly looking at sharing more data with creatives and the public.

"We release a top 10 list of shows on a regular basis in the UK, it's the first time we have done that anywhere, and it's been interesting to see what the impact of sharing that data has been."