Nostalgic film sequel breaks records on Netflix with 46,700,000 views
Happy Gilmore 2 saw Sandler revisit popular territory as part of his mega deal with the streamer, reportedly worth $250million (£186m) and renewed multiple times.
And Netflix will be seeing this as money very well spent after the golfing comedy sequel amassed a huge 46,700,000 views in its first three days alone on the platform.
Not only is that the most watched a English language film has even been in the US for its opening weekend, but it's also the biggest-ever audience an Adam Sandler flick has attracted during its crucial first three days.
The xx star has made multiple original movies for Netflix so far, including Murder Mystery, Hubie Halloween and rare serious film Spaceman.
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The streamer defines views by total hours watched (an eye-watering 91,900,000 hours in this case) by the run-time of the movie.
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Happy Gilmore 2 was released on July 25 and had clocked these figures by the end of the day on Sunday, while fans also boosted the original Happy Gilmore into third place with 11,400,000 views last week on Netflix.
The 1996 film followed the titular character, played by Sandler, a failed ice hockey player trying to raise enough money to stop the foreclosure of his grandmother's house, who fortuitously discovers he can hit long shots in golf and gains a fan following.
But just as the former Saturday Night Live actor has often split opinion, among the rave reviews from die-hard fans are many decrying the quality of this new 'zero-star' sequel, branding it 'tripe' and 'a terrible waste of time'.
Jaja B even admitted in their reaction on Rotten Tomatoes: 'I think this is my last/final break-up with a once great Adam Sandler.'
In the follow-up film, a terrible stroke of bad luck puts golf's one-time bad boy back on the back foot and in desperate need of a comeback – which is offered to him by Maxi Energy Drink CEO Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie), who is sponsoring a new golfing league of which he wants Happy to be the star.
'I hate to do this… but this was 0/10 stars. Of If I could've given 0, I would have. It was cameo central and cheap, no effort jokes. Don't meet your heroes,' wrote Sean M in his reaction on the review aggregator site.
Stephen M agreed, calling it 'pointless' and 'awful', although it does currently hold a fresh 70% audience rating at the time of publication.
'Sandler is rinsing that Netflix money and producing tripe. No funny moments at all. Happy Gilmore was great, but this one is the worst movie I've watched,' he complained.
'The movie left a sour taste in my mouth [and] was a terrible waste of time,' added Austin C while Rog S moaned: 'This movie was a flaming pile of garbage.'
Another fan echoed these thoughts, branding Happy Gilmore 2 'by far the worst Adam Sandler movie ever produced', despite calling the star 'one of my all-time faves'.
'I'm shocked that so many personalities read this script and attached their names to the film. This ruined my Friday night,' they added.
Happy Gilmore 2 does boast an impressive cast, welcoming back the likes of Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, original director Dennis Dugan, and Ben Stiller in his previous role as Hal from both Happy Gilmore and Hubie Halloween.
The movie also features pro-golfer John Daly as a fictionalised version of himself, and multiple members of Sandler's immediate family, including daughter Sunny, alongside Safdie, Bad Bunny and a swathe of cameos from the likes of Haley Joel Osment, Steve Buscemi, Post Malone, Kid Cudi, Eminem, Travis Kelce, Rob Schneider and Oliver Hudson – and a whole host of professional golf stars.
Other viewers had more fun with the film though, and urged people not to see it as high art, but purely entertainment.
'Is this going to win Oscars? No more than the first did… It was a ride of fan service with familiar faves and call backs in nearly every scene, and it works for what it is,' insisted Marcus J, while Bailey L added: 'It is just as it intended: Stupid, yet funny as hell. The cameos alone make this movie perfect. It's just fun to watch if you give in.'
'To see Adam come back and make a movie filled with cameo appearances and pay homage to those who passed away almost brings a tear to my eye. This movie is great had me laughing the entire time and it filled me with a sense of nostalgia I haven't felt in a while,' shared Johnny G.
Original Happy Gilmore cast members who died in the intervening years included Carl Weathers, who played Happy's mentor; Frances Bay, who was Grandma Gilmore; Richard Kiel and Joe Flaherty.
Meanwhile Liana O described it as the 'best comedy I've seen in years' while Syah Izani K commented: 'I laughed from the beginning to the end of the movie.'
'This is just as good as the first one,' enthused Joshua C in his reaction. 'It brought back the golden age of comedy movies. I haven't even finished it, just got to Stephen Smith in it and couldn't even wait to write a review.' More Trending
Which could explain the film's positive rating so far, alongside Sandler's passionate fans.
Happy Gilmore 2 has received mixed to negative reactions from critics, with Empire saying it 'never ascends higher than 'hit-and-miss'' but has 'sheer goofy, golf-y geniality' in a three-star review.
But The Daily Beast called it potentially 'the worst sequel of all time' and observed: 'Arguably the least inspired film in the actor's canon, if not all of movie history.'
Happy Gilmore 2 is streaming exclusively on Netflix now.
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