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'Happy Gilmore 2' shoots up the charts, earns Netflix's biggest opening weekend numbers

'Happy Gilmore 2' shoots up the charts, earns Netflix's biggest opening weekend numbers

Yahoo31-07-2025
Adam Sandler's big swing at Netflix has paid off.
"Happy Gilmore 2" snagged 91.9 million minutes watched in its first weekend, per Netflix's internal data. This amounts to 46.7 million views between July 25 and 27, according to the streamer's calculations.
This viewership gives Sandler's star-studded sequel bragging rights for having the biggest U.S. opening weekend of all time for a Netflix movie, a spokesperson for the streamer confirmed to USA TODAY on July 30. "Happy Gilmore 2" is currently in the No. 1 position for movies streamed worldwide.
Variety was first to report the news.
In the sequel, co-written by Sandler, Happy has left golf behind after a tragic accident years ago. When he needs to raise $300,000 to send his daughter, Vienna (Sunny Sandler), to a prestigious ballet school in Paris, Happy hits the links again and runs into old pal Shooter McGavin.
'I didn't practice at all': Adam Sandler, 'Happy Gilmore' stars spill on filming sequel
Happy also teams up with the who's who of the PGA Tour – including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa – to save traditional golf when an energy drink mogul (Benny Safdie) tries to popularize a more extreme version of the sport.
The number of cameos from stars like Bad Bunny (who was billed as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and had decent screen time to flex his acting chops), Eminem, Kid Cudi and Travis Kelce even shocked Julie Bowen, who plays Happy's wife, Virginia.
More: Bad Bunny imitates Trump's voice to criticize his immigration policies in new music video
"The call sheet was coded. It did not have anybody's names on it and there were 135 different cast members," she told USA TODAY. "I would see Polaroids in the hair and makeup trailer and I saw a person that no one's mentioned yet. And I'm like, 'When was he here?!' (They'd say) 'He's Newscaster No. 4.' And I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?'"
Christopher McDonald, who plays Happy's one-time nemesis Shooter, also found himself starstruck.
"I have known a few of these golf legends and legends-in-training. But seeing them one-on-one, it's like: 'Oh, my God, that's Rory McIlroy. That's Bryson DeChambeau. That's Scottie Scheffler.' It was mind-blowing for me," he told USA TODAY. "And I came in on my days off just to hang out with them."
Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Happy Gilmore 2' tops Netflix charts with biggest ever viewership
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WNBA sex toy incidents may be linked to cryptocurrency group's money scheme
WNBA sex toy incidents may be linked to cryptocurrency group's money scheme

Yahoo

time4 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

WNBA sex toy incidents may be linked to cryptocurrency group's money scheme

Late in the first half of a Los Angeles Sparks-Indiana Fever game on Tuesday night, a neon green sex toy thrown from the stands landed on the floor of Arena, at the feet of Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham. Simultaneously, a group of people during an audio livestream on X were reveling in the moment and celebrating its potential to help boost the value of a memecoin, a cryptocurrency deriving from an internet meme but traded through very real markets online. The coin was created on July 28, the day before the first occurrence of a sex toy being thrown on a WNBA court, and as of Thursday, its worth had nearly tripled in a week. 'Someone is tweeting that there's one at the Sparks game,' one person said on the stream. 'That is literally the best case scenario that we could possibly imagine,' another replied, because the sex toy had fallen near Cunningham, who had earlier in the week posted a plea for spectators not to throw the objects onto the court, which was met with numerous memes involving the phallic object. The incident in Los Angeles — as well as others that occurred that evening — appears to be part of a coordinated effort, born out of the murky and often mysterious corners of internet culture, social media and opportunistic plays in the cryptocurrency markets. Like many things on the internet, users often interact without revealing their identities, especially in public settings. Memecoins, a novelty digital asset originating from a meme, are part of an odd intersection of jokes that turn into something users try to spin into an asset with more value, like Dogecoin or Shiba Inu coin. One user speaking on a stream called the attention created by the incidents and resulting chatter 'next level.' 'This is empowering to every f—ing crypto community to start thinking outside the box. Get creative and f—ing do something that makes people actually laugh. Memecoins should make you laugh,' he said, adding, 'The whole mission with this was focus on making an impact in crypto culture.' It appears the WNBA and its athletes are central to the joke, regardless of the founders' intentions, and no matter how players have reacted. The incidents have sparked opportunities for detractors to mock the league and women's sports more generally. 'The sexualization of women is what's used to hold women down, and this is no different,' Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. 'These people that are doing this should be held accountable. We're not the butt of the joke, they're the problem.' On Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. shared a meme that pictured his father, President Donald J. Trump, throwing a sex toy off the roof of the White House onto a court of women's basketball players. 'Posted without further comment,' the younger Trump said, adding three crying laughing emojis. Beginning on July 29, three neon green sex toys have been thrown onto WNBA courts. At Tuesday night's New York Liberty game, an X video shows a similar object confiscated in the stands. Other social media users claimed there was an attempt to throw one at the Phoenix Mercury game, which was being played at the same time of the Sparks' contest. During Tuesday's livestream, there was also talk of someone throwing another toy at the Seattle Storm's Climate Pledge Arena during Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Lynx, though no incident occurred, a Storm spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic. It appears as if the crypto memecoin community, Green Dildo Coin, is behind the latest wave of WNBA incidents. On Tuesday night's livestream, members acknowledged the communication they have with those throwing the sex toys at WNBA arenas. 'I just got confirmation L.A. is out of the building,' one member of the stream said around seven minutes after the sex toy landed on the court, indicating the person who threw it fled without being apprehended. 'There are community members out there putting their f—ing lives on the line, so the least you can do is retweet,' the same member said as the act was beginning to go viral on social media. 'The potential tosser (in Seattle), if you will, lost his phone in Lake Washington, so I had to reach out to a friend who was able to get me in contact, and he's all set now,' another member of the stream said of the potential incident at Tuesday's Storm game. A league source told The Athletic that the WNBA is aware of the Green Dildo Coin's recent X stream. Last week, a 23-year-old Georgia man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure and criminal trespass, according to Clayton County's court system, days after the first of these incidents. Messages shared on the stream and in the community's Telegram chat suggest that those directly involved in the Green Dildo Coin community were not aware of Delbert Carver before his arrest, although members of the community were alerted to watch the Atlanta Dream-Golden State Valkyries game on July 29. 'Obviously, that was not anybody in the community,' said one member on Tuesday's stream. 'I didn't want to give it any credit, but I was kind of thinking we could go and pay that guy's bail, and just say, like you know what, we support green dildo throwers.' The WNBA said in a statement Saturday that anyone throwing an object onto the court would be immediately ejected, is subject to a one-year ban and could face arrest and prosecution by local authorities. 'The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans,' the league said. An 18-year-old man, Kaden Lopez, was also arrested while at Tuesday's Mercury game after police said he threw a sex toy toward the seats in front of him, hitting a man and his 9-year-old niece. Sergeant Phil Krynsky, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department, confirmed Lopez's arrest in a statement to The Athletic. The identities of those who originated Green Dildo Coin are unclear, though the domain of the memecoin's website was registered on July 19, according to an internet domain lookup service. Memecoins, according to Christian Grewell, an expert on blockchain and cryptocurrency technology at New York University, 'cost almost nothing to make, essentially they're free, but they can generate millions in profits within days.' The community also has an online storefront that sells apparel related to the sex toy and memecoin. It was registered on July 7, close to two weeks before the first sex toy was thrown onto a WNBA court. Green Dildo Coin launched its account on X on July 28, with its apparent founder, Lt. Daldo Raine, voicing a nearly 15-minute speech — spoofing the opening speech of Brad Pitt's character, Lt. Aldo Raine, in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglorious Bastards' — in which he explains the purpose of the memecoin. The WNBA is not explicitly mentioned in opening comments, though Raine said that 'evidence of our cruelty' would be found in the 'giant green, aggressive, and erect candles we leave behind.' In multiple livestreams listened to by The Athletic, members routinely voiced crude humor about the WNBA. Jokes were made about WNBA viewership, and memes circulated in the community's telegram often juxtaposed the sex toy into the hands of WNBA players. 'The attention we created for a ($40) dildo and ($140) seats is next level,' said one of the aforementioned members of the community on the stream. 'This is empowering to every f—ing crypto community to start thinking outside the box. Get creative and do something that makes people actually laugh. Memecoins should make you laugh. Memes should make you laugh. 'This is a movement to me to empower the average f—ing teacher. I don't care if you have 100,000 followers or 10 followers. Your f—ing posts matter, they have the ability to go viral, as long as they're actually f—ing funny.' The incidents appeared to change the trading prices of $DILDO. According to the coingecko cryptocurrency website, it has a trading volume of more than $1.5 million between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction model, also took bets on whether disruptions would occur. The site reported that it took in more than $180,000 in volume on whether a sex toy would be thrown at a game by Aug. 10. Users of the platform can also trade on the specific day another sex toy will be thrown on. 'The dildo-throwing incidents were essentially an excuse for bad actors to hijack existing negativity and convert it into attention,' Grewell wrote in an email to The Athletic. Raine, the spokesperson of the group, told USA Today that the disruption using sex toys at WNBA games is likely done, but that the pranks wouldn't stop. A photo circulated online, and in the community's Telegram chat, of a spectator holding a green sex toy at Wednesday night's Miami Marlins game. 'If we're too disruptive for too long, people will get pissed off,' a member said Tuesday on stream. 'The bigger events, we gotta find creative ways to like trick the cameras onto us and then, f—ing bingo.' WNBA players and coaches have voiced their displeasure with the incidents and asked for consideration of player safety. After the second incident, which occurred in Chicago last Friday, Sky center Elizabeth Williams said it was 'super disrespectful' and 'really immature.' 'It's ridiculous, it's dumb, it's stupid,' Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. The Athletic's Matt Moret contributed to this report. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Seattle Storm, Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA, Sports Business 2025 The Athletic Media Company

Sophie Cunningham fined a 2nd time for comments about WNBA refs
Sophie Cunningham fined a 2nd time for comments about WNBA refs

Yahoo

time4 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Sophie Cunningham fined a 2nd time for comments about WNBA refs

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham says she was fined by the WNBA a second time for making negative comments about the league's referees. Cunningham, speaking earlier this week on her podcast, 'Show Me Something,' said she was fined $1,500 for comments she'd made the previous week. On the debut episode of her podcast July 28, Cunningham said the refs are 'just so inconsistent.' 'If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time. Like, I'm not saying that your job is easy, but when it is a simple call in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing?' she said. Cunningham said she found out about the second fine when Fever general manager Amber Cox pulled her aside and told her the league contacted her. 'I think players across the league, and new fans across the country, are like, 'What is going on with the refs?' And I'm like, 'I don't know,'' she said on the July 28 episode before an expletive dismissal of the impact of '$500" fines. Cunningham was fined that amount for a TikTok posted July 18 where she lip synced to the lyrics, 'Stupid. Or is it, slow? Or maybe, useless?' from Sabrina Carpenter's song 'Manchild' with the words '@ some refs' written on the video. ___ AP WNBA:

Greg Nicotero Discussed His New Jason Voorhees Design For The FRIDAY THE 13TH Reboot — GeekTyrant
Greg Nicotero Discussed His New Jason Voorhees Design For The FRIDAY THE 13TH Reboot — GeekTyrant

Geek Tyrant

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Greg Nicotero Discussed His New Jason Voorhees Design For The FRIDAY THE 13TH Reboot — GeekTyrant

Jason Voorhees is making a comeback in the upcoming Jason Universe reboot of the Friday the 13th franchise, legendary horror effects artist Greg Nicotero has given the iconic monster a whole new makeover, and in a recent chat with CB during San Diego Comic-Con, Nicotero opened up about what it's been like revisiting Jason, and how this new version is a full-on resurrection. 'They said, 'We want to reimagine him,'' Nicotero shared. 'And so we did this new mask, then we did a new Jason.' If there's anyone equipped for the job, it's Nicotero. As co-founder of KNB EFX Group, he's had a hand in sculpting nearly every horror icon imaginable, Halloween 's Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street 's Freddy Krueger, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 's Leatherface, Scream 's Ghostface. But Jason is a particularly special case, especially for Nicotero, who previously worked on Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday back in 1993. This time around, Nicotero's take on Jason finds a balance between two eras of the character. He explained: 'They're like, 'He's not a zombie, so he's not going to be rotted.' So we landed somewhere between Part 2 and Part 3.' That's in reference to the days when Jason still wore a burlap sack on his head before finding that iconic hockey mask, speaking of which, this new one features 13 holes which is a deliberate and symbolic design choice. The redesigned Jason was first revealed in May by Horror, Inc., and he's every bit the towering, machete-wielding force you'd expect, just updated for a new generation of fans. Nicotero said: 'It was a lot of fun. It's fun for me to revisit those. We did Nightmare on Elm Street, we did Halloween, we did three Scream movies, we did Leatherface. We're the only company that's really touched all of those big franchises, except for Hellraiser.' This new Jason will make his official debut in Crystal Lake, the upcoming Friday the 13th prequel series being produced by A24 and streaming on Peacock. The series stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Callum Vinson as a young Jason, laying the groundwork for the legend that will grow into the relentless killer we know. Rob Barsamian, president of Horror, Inc., emphasized the importance of getting the balance right: 'We strive to maintain Jason's original essence, while continuing to move toward the future with a defined look and feel that takes Jason into his next chapter. We gave Greg our new 13-hole mask and worked together on this full body look that embodies classic Jason. He's a strong, towering and terrifying slasher with a machete, his weapon of choice.' Marc Toberoff of Friday the 13th LLC, who is overseeing the Jason Universe alongside franchise creator Victor Miller and Horror Inc.'s Barsamian team, hinted that this is just the beginning, including a long-awaited return to the big screen. 'It's incredibly exciting to bring Jason Voorhees back into the lives of fans in such a bold and fresh way. We're thrilled to be working alongside Horror, Inc. on this next chapter of the franchise and Jason's legacy, and we share their passion. Together, we're making sure this return delivers everything longtime fans have been craving — while opening the door for an entirely new generation.' This is a full relaunch of the entire Friday the 13th mythology, spearheaded by horror's most trusted names. With Nicotero behind the mask, Crystal Lake on the horizon, and a cinematic return in the works, the slasher legend is slicing his way back into the spotlight in a big way. And from the sound of it… this Jason doesn't miss.

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