Netflix Is Making a Massive Mistake With ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ and It Could Hurt Them

In 1995, Adam Sandler had been writing and appearing on Saturday Night Live for just five years when he was fired by NBC. It might have been a blessing in disguise, since he soon starred in two theatrical comedies that would play a large part over the next thirty years of his career, Billy Madison and the golf comedy Happy Gilmore. In 2014, Adam Sandler signed a massive deal with Netflix that has been extended multiple times, with the streamer reporting that Sandler’s films have led to billions of hours of viewing. Eventually, Sandler was convinced to go back in time and make a sequel to Happy Gilmore, and the first trailer for Happy Gilmore 2 debuted at Netflix’s 2025 TUDUM event on May 31. It was announced that the movie would debut on the streamer on July 25 with no reported plans for any sort of theatrical release.

We’re constantly hearing conversations about how Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out movies for Netflix deserve a theatrical release. People seem to feel that Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming Frankenstein should be seen in theaters, as well as David Fincher‘s planned sequel to Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Greta Gerwig‘s Narnia movie is even looking into being screened in IMAX theaters. If those are possibilities, why can’t Adam Sandler’s long-awaited return to Happy Gilmore be released theatrically? Sandler achieved the height of his fame and success in theaters, and Netflix could make tens of millions or more, if they took that route with Happy Gilmore 2.

By 2014, Adam Sandler Was a Massive Theatrical Box Office Star

After leaving Saturday Night Live, Sandler was making almost a movie a year, whether it be his own comedies or appearing as an actor in others, and many of them were grossing more than $100 million domestically, as well as doing well overseas. Sandler had 16 movies between 1998 and 2018 that grossed over $100 million just in North America, a clear sign that he’s indeed an A-lister. Sandler’s last live-action release in theaters was the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems in 2019, which grossed $50 million, which was pretty damn good for an A24 indie release. After making the 2013 sequel, Grown Ups 2, Sandler shifted towards making the animated Hotel Transylvania movies, which helped him find a younger audience, but that streaming dough was calling.

Although many of Sandler’s earlier Netflix movies were pretty forgettable, even when he teamed with Noah Baumbach for The Meyerowitz Stories, the comic actor quickly found his groove by reuniting with Jennifer Aniston—the two of them had a $100 million domestic grossing hit with Just Go With It in 2011—leading to two of Netflix’s biggest streaming hits, Murder Mystery in 2019 and its sequel four years later. We may never know how those movies might have done if given a theatrical release, because that would have gone against Netflix’s general business model. And yet, the original Happy Gilmore has probably been seen more on streaming than in theaters.

Too Many Netflix Streaming Movies Are Ignored or Forgotten

One of the big problems with Happy Gilmore 2 only being on Netflix is that, while it could do very well and get lots of people watching, many of Netflix’s streaming-only movies are quickly forgotten. Case in point: last year, Eddie Murphy returned to his own beloved ’80s character for the Netflix-produced Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which reportedly cost $150 million to make. Reviews were fine, and people certainly watched it, but there never felt like there was much excitement for Murphy returning to his popular character for the first time in thirty years. It would be a shame to see that happen with Sandler’s return to one of his popular early characters.

When movies get theatrical releases, people go out to see them with friends, and when they leave, they’re talking about what they just saw and telling others how much they enjoyed the movie, when that’s the case. Look at Ryan Coogler‘s Sinners earlier this year and how that just exploded after its opening weekend, as weird as it may be to compare that acclaimed movie to anything from Sandler. And yet, many of Sandler’s biggest hits, like 1998’s The Waterboy and 1999’s Big Daddy, were movies that built on their positive word-of-mouth from opening weekend.

Adam Sandler as Stanley sits on the bleachers while basketball players run in front of him in Hustle.

The 8 Greatest Adam Sandler Movies on Netflix Right Now

From ‘Hustle’ to ‘Hotel Transylvania.’

We already know that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos doesn’t have much respect for the theatrical experience and that Netflix would rather dump their expensive movies onto the platform in hopes subscribers will watch them that way. Since Sandler has proven himself to be such a lucrative asset for the streamer, couldn’t he make the same suggestion other filmmakers have made, to give Happy Gilmore 2 a wider theatrical release? There are probably millions of Sandler fans, especially fans of Happy Gilmore (and golf!), who would gladly get out of their houses to see this sequel early if Netflix opens communication with theater chains and gives the movie a wide release ahead of streaming. Otherwise, Netflix has created a situation where none of Sandler’s recent movies are being gauged against other movies in theaters, and that indeed leaves money on the table for those who would prefer to see his sequel with the most raucous of theatrical crowds.