'Stranger Things' Season 3 breaks viewership record, Netflix claims

Did you watch Stranger Things 3 over Fourth of July weekend? If so, you're not alone.

According to Netflix, the new season was such a popular viewing pick that it actually broke the service's four-day record, with 40.7 million "household accounts" tuning in. And 18.2 million of those, or about 44 percent, have already completed all eight episodes.

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As usual with Netflix, several caveats apply. These numbers are self-reported and have not been verified by any independent source. In Netflix's accounting, according to a spokesperson who reached out to Mashable, an account is considered to have "watched" a show if it completed at least 70% of one episode (or 70% of an entire film for movies).

Previously, the company claimed over 30 million accounts had streamed Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston's Murder Mystery in the first three days of release, that 45 million accounts had watched Sandra Bullock's Bird Box in the first seven days, and that 40 million had viewed You and Sex Education in roughly the first month.

So, how does Stranger Things' 40.7 million in four days stack up against those? We have no idea, since it's hard to meaningfully compare numbers for an entire month against numbers for an entire day -- and since, again, Netflix's metrics are so opaque to begin with. What show did Stranger Things dethrone to set that record -- and by how much is it ahead? Netflix hasn't said. Is that 18.2 million number an unusually high completion rate? Your guess is as good as ours.

But these are big numbers any way you slice it, and in any case you probably didn't need Netflix to tell you what all of us already know from personal experience: that people really, really like this show.

This article has been updated to include new information about Netflix's viewership numbers from Netflix.