It’s been 30 years since the release of “Billy Madison”, the comedy that put Adam Sandler on the quick path to big screen stardom. He followed that up with 1996’s “Happy Gilmore”. The highly anticipated sequel is debuting July 25th on Netflix. It’s the latest in a string of Sandler releases on the streamer. All of these recent Sandler films debuted at home on Netflix: “The Ridiculous 6”, “The Do-Over”, “Sandy Wexler”, “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)”, “The Week Of”, “Murder Mystery”, “Hubie Halloween”, “Hustle”, “Murder Mystery 2”, “You Are So Not Invited to My Bar Mitzvah”, the animated feature “Leo”, “Spaceman” and now “Happy Gilmore 2”.
Later this year, there will be a limited theatrical run for “Jay Kelly” ahead of its Netflix debut, and there’s already awards season buzz for Sandler’s performance, opposite George Clooney, in co-writer and director Noah Baumbach’s star-studded dramedy. This isn’t Sandler’s first time in the awards conversation. He won an Independent Spirit Award, was up for the Critics Choice, and was largely snubbed for a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in 2019’s “Uncut Gems” — a rare pure theatrical release from a non-Netflix studio (A24) for Sandler over the past decade. And his work in “Hustle” got him on the SAG Awards Best Actor ballot.
Sandler’s performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002) earned him a Golden Globe nomination. And he was Annie nominated for his voice work for Sony Pictures Animation’s first “Hotel Transylvania” installment (2012). Both of those movies were released under the Sony Pictures umbrella. It’s the studio Sandler most frequently collaborated with before his switchover to Netflix. That Sony roster includes “Big Daddy”, “Mr. Deeds”, animated “Eight Crazy Nights”, “Anger Management”, “50 First Dates”, “Spanglish”, “The Longest Yard” (with Paramount), “Click”, “Reign Over Me”, “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”, “Funny People” (with Universal), “Grown Ups”, “Just Go With It”, “Zookeeper”, “Jack and Jill”, “That’s My Boy”, “Grown Ups 2”, “Pixels”, “Hotel Transylvania 2” and “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”.
There were a few one-offs, like Universal for “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”, Disney for “Bedtime Stories” and Warner Bros. for “Blended”, but Sony embraced Sandler’s success for a long time. The majority of those movies made A LOT of money. And now, when it comes to the Netflix shift, Sandler’s movies are bringing in A LOT of viewers. “Happy Gilmore 2” could be one of the biggest EVER.