By the time Adam Sandler's 2015 comedy Pixels arrived to widespread critical scorn, it was clear that the career of the once-reigning king of theatrical comedy had seen better days. Curiously though, while Pixels was a full-on box office bomb in the U.S. - failing to even recoup its $88 million budget domestically - it did quite well worldwide, earning enough to make the film at least mildly profitable for studio Sony. Still, it was clear that Sandler's appeal as a theatrical draw was waning, as Pixels was but the latest project of his to underachieve stateside.
Thankfully, by the time Pixels hit theaters, Sandler had already signed what turned out to be an incredibly lucrative deal with Netflix, for both sides. Under the deal, Sandler's Happy Madison productions would produce four original feature films for the service, all starring Sandler and some mix of his usual comedy pals. The Do-Over - have since debuted on Netflix, and gone on to rack up a veritable tons of views from interested subscribers.
While Sandler's name alone might not be quite enough to get most people to head out to a theater anymore, it appears that when offered the opportunity to stream his movies from the comfort of their own home, fans of the comedian and actor are more than happy to take Netflix up on it. With that in mind, Deadline reports that Sandler has just agreed to an extension of his existing deal with Netflix, g on to make four more movies for the service. Sandler released the following statement:
“Love working with Netflix and collaborating with them. I love how ionate they are about making movies and getting them out there for the whole world to see. They’ve made me feel like family and I can’t thank them enough for their ."
The third film of Sandler's original Netflix deal - entitled available to stream on April 14. The fourth movie of that set is still in development, and has not yet been officially titled. A timetable for Sandler's next quartet of Netflix comedies has yet to be revealed, although if past is prologue, look for one to be released each year for the foreseeable future.
Despite what Sandler's detractors may think about his films, one can't deny that this relationship with Netflix seems to be working out quite well. Sandler is free to make whatever he wants, exercising complete creative control over content, story, and casting his buddies. Sandler's seemingly still-sizeable fanbase can then see his films at home, at a low cost, and at their convenience. One wonders how long it might take for other big names to strike similar accords with Netflix.
Source: Deadline