Happy Gilmore 2, Adam Sandler’s comedy sequel, was released on Netflix on Friday, and the streaming service has made sure to capitalise on the film’s popularity. Fans have been anticipating the follow-up to Adam Sandler’s hit 1996 film Happy Gilmore ever since Netflix announced last year that it was producing a sequel.
Sandler returns to his role as an unusual golfer who is famed for his big drives in the latest film directed by Kyle Newacheck. Returning cast members Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowden, and Ben Stiller are joined by Bad Bunny, Benny Safdie, and Haley Joel Osment.
The marketing for the movie had already begun months before the trailer was released in May, with McDonald playing the arrogant golfer Shooter McGavin at the WM Phoenix Open. The steamer then claimed that the trailer’s release was a huge success.
“People love the original movie,” Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria told the audience during the film’s premiere at New York’s Lincoln Centre. “When we released the trailer, fans went nuts. It’s the best trailer performance we’ve had for any Netflix film.”
As previously reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix leveraged this momentum by forming brand alliances with companies such as U.S. Bank, Callaway, Topgolf, and Subway, the latter of which was featured prominently in both films. The focus of Subway’s advertisement is McDonald, who also serves as the spokesperson for the Happy Gilmore sandwich.
“Subway was a big part of the first one, and so they stepped up and wanted to be in the second as well,” McDonald recently told THR. “Luckily, we had some great writers from the Happy Gilmore camp who gave me some really fun lines.”
Converting the famous Times Square ball into a golf ball featuring the image of the title character was one of the other incentive ways to raise publicity for Happy Gilmore 2. The star even had his category on Jeopardy! This week, Sandler also made an appearance in character at the NHL Draft last month to announce the selection for Happy’s favourite hockey team, the Boston Bruins.
“Capturing the tone of the iconic first film and preparing fans for the next chapter is a lotta pressure,” says Netflix VP of film marketing Jonathan Helfgot. “You gotta harness the good ideas, block out the bad. Harness. Good. Block. Bad.“
With Netflix announcing on Friday that the Easter-egg video game Happy Gilmore: Golf Mayhem 98 Demo is now accessible to members on qualified TVs and Netflix.com, the excitement does indeed continue.
Fans can play golf, compete against well-known opponents, and generally wreak havoc in this classic game. It’s plenty to transport Happy Gilmore to his blissful state.