Is This for Real? Netflix Spent MCU Money on “Happy Gilmore 2”
A press release from the New Jersey Motion Picture Commission says Netflix dropped a massive $152M on making “Happy Gilmore 2” in the Garden State. One hundred and fifty-two million dollars. Hard to believe, right? It sounds more like the budget for a Marvel movie than a golf comedy sequel to a film that only cost $12M back in 1996.
Read More: Subtle Cameron Boyce Tribute Featured in Adam Sandler’s ‘Happy Gilmore 2’
What’s funny is how Netflix pitched it. The trades were given a much smaller number, $30M. That figure makes sense if you consider Adam Sandler’s usual paycheck from Netflix—pretty much the cost of his salary alone. So either the trades lowballed it, or Netflix shifted the numbers around.
Was Bad Bunny really that pricey? His cameo has gotten buzz, sure, but enough to burn MCU-level money? Or was it just Sandler and Happy Madison spending big in Jersey? Still, the figures don’t lie. Was it worth it? Maybe. Just two weeks after release, “Happy Gilmore 2” has already hit 90 million views worldwide. Makes you wonder if Netflix should’ve tried a 30-day theater run to get some of that cash back.
Then again, Quentin Tarantino—whose “Cliff Booth” script is being made into a $200M David Fincher film—recently said that for Netflix, “the box office doesn’t matter.”
I mean, it doesn’t matter f— all. Not f— all, all right? They don’t care. They don’t care. It’s like gambling with the casino’s money. I mean, you know, it’s that Sword of Damocles that I have existed under, that I have lived under my entire career, just doesn’t exist.
At the end of the day, $152M for a “Happy Gilmore” sequel is small change for Netflix, their goal is views, and this film is pulling them in. The streamer isn’t slowing down on Adam Sandler either, keeping up their exclusive deal that’s been running since 2015 and has already produced 12 movies.
Source: Worldoffreel