Is This for Real? Netflix Dropped MCU Money on “Happy Gilmore 2.”
A press release from the New Jersey Motion Picture Commission has surfaced, and it claims Netflix spent a jaw-dropping $152M on “Happy Gilmore 2” production in the Garden State. One hundred and fifty-two million. Let that sink in. You’d think they were filming the next Marvel instalment, not a golf comedy sequel to a movie that cost $12M back in 1996.
No film has ever spent more money in New Jersey than this one. “Happy Gilmore 2” received generous tax incentives, but the actual scope of its budget outside of Garden State shooting costs remains unclear.
What’s amusing is how Netflix spun this thing. The trades were spoon-fed a nice, clean figure: $30M. That’s what they said the budget was. Which, if you know Adam Sandler’s payday history with Netflix, is roughly the cost of his salary alone. So either the trades were underreporting, or someone at Netflix was doing a little creative bookkeeping.
Was Bad Bunny really that expensive? His cameo has been hyped, sure, but are we talking MCU-level cash outflow here? Or was this just Sandler and Happy Madison running wild with the budget in Jersey?
Still, numbers don’t lie. Was it money well spent? Maybe? Just two weeks since its Netflix debut, “Happy Gilmore 2” has already racked up 90 million views worldwide. It makes you wonder if Netflix should have given this one a 30-day theatrical bow, just to recoup some of that money.
Then again, Quentin Tarantino, whose ‘Cliff Booth’ script is being turned into a $200M, David Fincher-directed film, recently noted that “the box office doesn’t matter” to Netflix.
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.
In the end, $152M for a “Happy Gilmore” sequel is pocket change for Netflix — they’re chasing eyeballs, and this movie is delivering plenty. The streamer clearly isn’t holding back when it comes to Adam Sandler, with whom they’ve maintained an exclusive partnership since 2015, resulting in a total of 12 feature films so far.
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.