Happy Gilmore scores again.
“Happy Gilmore 2,” a nostalgia play that brought back one of the most popular characters in Adam Sandler’s ouvre, was almost guaranteed to draw a large, built-in audience.
Now Netflix says the movie is breaking records.
Per the streamer, the sequel, filmed in New Jersey, has drawn 46.7 million views globally since its July 25 release.
That number gives “Happy Gilmore 2″ the largest opening of any Netflix movie in the United States and the largest opening for any Sandler film.
The 58-year-old actor and comedian has had a deal with Netflix since 2014.
The film, currently sitting in the No. 1 spot in Netflix’s top 10 English-language movies, sees the return of actors like Julie Bowen (Virginia Venit), Christopher McDonald (Shooter McGavin) and Ben Stiller (Hal L.) from the first movie and is overflowing with callbacks to the first movie and celebrity cameos.
READ MORE: Go behind the scenes of Adam Sandler’s ‘Happy Gilmore 2.’ See every N.J. filming location.
Global music superstar Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) plays Oscar Mejias, Happy’s new caddie, while Eminem, Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi), Travis Kelce, Cam’ron, Post Malone (Austin Post) and more all make appearances. A series of professional golfers, like John Daly and Rory McIlroy, play themselves in the movie.
Sandler’s family — daughters Sunny Sandler and Sadie Sandler and his wife, Jackie Sandler — are also prominently featured in the movie, with Sunny playing Happy’s daughter, Vienna.
Benny Safdie plays Frank Manatee, the newest villain in the Gilmore-verse, which also welcomes new faces like Margaret Qualley and Eric André as well as “Saturday Night Live” stars Martin Herlihy and Marcello Hernandez, and Sandler movie regulars like Steve Buscemi, Lavell Crawford and Kevin Nealon.
Bad Bunny, aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, as caddie Oscar Mejias and Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore in “Happy Gilmore 2.” Scott Yamano | Netflix
Like the first “Happy Gilmore,” which premiered in 1996, Sandler wrote the movie with his frequent collaborator Tim Herlihy (Martin’s dad), and Kyle Newacheck directed.
“Sometimes there’s these projects that speak to people on on a level that is almost unexplainable,“ Newacheck told NJ Advance Media before the movie’s release, talking about the original film. ”But I believe that this one is because people love the character of Happy Gilmore. People love the bad boy that entered golf 30 years ago. That fish-out-of-water story was truly hilarious.”
The first “Happy Gilmore” also did well on Netflix this past week, drawing 11.4 million views and ranking at No. 3. The film is leaving the streaming service on Friday (August 1).
READ MORE: In ‘Happy Gilmore 2,’ Adam Sandler remembers Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce, who played his son
Anticipation for the sequel was more than palpable when Sandler posted a photo of the script and Happy’s Bruins hockey jersey on Instagram. When the movie was seeking extras, many New Jersey locals turned out for open casting calls — Netflix says almost 3,000 extras were part of the film.
Sandler, Newacheck said, “didn’t have to make this movie.“
“He wouldn’t have made it unless it was the right time to make this movie and the right story to support the character.”
“Happy Gilmore 2″ filmed at nine New Jersey golf courses and driving ranges.
The movie filmed in nine counties last fall, visiting a local beach, community center, church, bar, gym, liquor store, supermarket, schools, ballfields, car wash, borough hall, performing arts center and private homes as well as Newark Liberty International Airport. (See the full list of locations here.)
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
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