Summary
Although critics weren’t impressed,a new Adam Sandler comedy has been a huge success onNetflix, and it also broke a record.
Sandler has enjoyed a memorable movie career that has included starring in countless comedies, includingthe underratedThe Week Ofandthe heartwarming ’90s hitThe Wedding Singer. After spending a few years in the 1990s as aSaturday Night Livecast member, the actor became known for playing ditzy and silly characters in films likeBig DaddyandBilly Madison. Hisholiday filmEight Crazy Nightsis also a lot of fun. Now he’s back with a highly anticipated new sequel to one of his most popular and beloved movies. While critics don’t think it’s anything special, audiences are definitely enjoying it.
Happy Gilmore 2 Is Number One On Netflix And Broke Records Its First Weekend On The Streaming Service
Varietyreported thatHappy Gilmore 2is currently the number one English language movie on Netflix and had the highest ratings of any movie on the streaming service in its first weekend. As the publication mentioned, the sequel was also the most successful first weekend for any of Sandler’s movies.Happy Gilmore 2got 46.7 million views from July 21st to July 27th, 2025, which is impressive.
Whilesome fans say that sequels shouldn’t be made because of pure nostalgia, viewers clearly couldn’t wait to check outHappy Gilmore 2. But many critics weren’t sold on the sequel. According to some reviews shared on Rotten Tomatoes, Johnny Loftus of Decider called it “aimless” and Alison Willmore ofNew York Magazineand Vulture said it “feels haphazardly made.”
Happy Gilmorewas released in 1996, and Sandler co-wrote the screenplay along with Tim Herlihy. Although he’s always dreamed of playing hockey professionally, he becomes a golfer when he has to earn some cash to save his grandma’s house. The talented all-star cast includesthe late Joe Flaherty as a fan named Donald Floyd and Carl Weathers as Derick “Chubbs” Peterson, a character who helps and inspires Happy along the way.
Other characters includeHarry’s grandma Anna (Frances Bay) and girlfriend Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen).The sequel features returning cast members such as Bowen andChristopher McDonald, who played Shooter McGavin, another golfer who Harry can’t stand. Although critics didn’t loveHappy Gilmore 2, fans who had been waiting 30 years for the sequel were definitely thrilled to check it out and see some Happy, Virginia, and Shooter again. Some new faces joined the second film, including Ben Stiller, Bad Bunny, Bennie Safdie, John Daly, and Sandler’s daughters Sadie and Sunny Sandler. Sadly, Weathers was meant to come back, buthe passed away in 2024.
Sandler has another Netflix comedy on the way and will star inJay Kelly,which will be released on November 14th, 2025 and is co-written anddirected byNoah Baumbach. The story follows George Clooney’s actor character Jay Kelly and his manager Ron (Sandler) in Europe. Sandler also produced Amy Schumer’s 2024 Netflix comedyKinda Pregnantand also starred in the sci-fi filmSpacemanalongside Carey Mulligan. According to Sandler’s IMDB page, he’s starring next in an “Untitled Adam Sandler/Safdie Brothers” project about a former baseball player who begins working in the world of sports memorabilia.
