Happy Madison Productions, Inc. is an American film and television production company founded in 1999 by Adam Sandler,[1][2][3] which is best known for its comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, and distributed by Universal Pictures.
In addition to various Sandler-produced films, the company has also released films produced by others, such as Steven Brill, Dennis Dugan, Frank Coraci, Fred Wolf, Tom Brady, Peter Segal, Nicholaus Goossen, and Tyler Spindel.
The 1998 films The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer helped jump start Sandler's movie career and production company. He produced The Waterboy and co-wrote the script with Tim Herlihy. The film was extremely profitable, earning over $160 million in the United States alone and made Sandler a successful actor with The Waterboy becoming his second $100 million film in a year, along with The Wedding Singer.
The company's production offices were formerly located in the Judy Garland Building on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City but the company left after completion of Sandler's final contracted film for the studio, Pixels. Happy Madison, Inc., the parent company of Happy Madison Productions, is run by Adam Sandler's brother Scott, and is located in Manchester, New Hampshire.[4]
In 2002, the company expanded its operations onto television with a pilot commitment at The WB.[5] After fifteen years, head Doug Robinson left the company to start its own at Sony Pictures Television.[6]
The company also had a short-lived subsidiary called Madison 23 Productions, which was aimed at the drama genre. It only produced two films: Reign Over Me and Funny People, both of which starred Sandler. Another subsidiary was Scary Madison Productions, which was aimed at the horror genre and only produced the film The Shortcut.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Director | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo | Mike Mitchell | $17 million | $92.9 million | with Out of the Blue... Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures; distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | |
| 2000 | Little Nicky | Steven Brill | $85 million | $58.3 million | with The Robert Simonds Company; distributed by New Line Cinema | |
| 2001 | Joe Dirt | Dennie Gordon | $17.7 million | $31 million | with Robert Simonds Productions and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| The Animal | Luke Greenfield | $47 million | $84.8 million | with Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| 2002 | Mr. Deeds | Steven Brill | $50 million | $171.3 million | with Out of the Blue... Entertainment, New Line Cinema, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| The Master of Disguise | Perry Andelin Blake | $16 million | $43.4 million | with Revolution Studios, Out of the Blue Entertainment and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Eight Crazy Nights | Seth Kearsley | $34 million | $23.8 million | with Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| The Hot Chick | Tom Brady | $34 million | $54.6 million | with Touchstone Pictures; distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | ||
| 2003 | Anger Management | Peter Segal | $75 million | $195.7 million | with Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star | Sam Weisman | $17 million | $23.8 million | distributed by Paramount Pictures | ||
| 2004 | 50 First Dates | Peter Segal | $75 million | $198.5 million | with Flower Films, Anonymous Content, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| 2005 | The Longest Yard | $90 million | $191.5 million | with Callahan Filmworks, MTV Films, Paramount Pictures, and Columbia Pictures; distributed in USA & Canada by Paramount Pictures and internationally by Sony Pictures Releasing (via Sony Pictures Releasing International) | ||
| Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo | Mike Bigelow | $22 million | $45.1 million | with Out of the Blue... Entertainment and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| 2006 | Grandma's Boy | Nicholaus Goossen | $5 million | $6.6 million | with Level 1 Entertainment; distributed in USA/Canada by 20th Century Fox and internationally by Summit Entertainment | |
| The Benchwarmers | Dennis Dugan | $33 million | $65 million | with Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Click | Frank Coraci | $82.5 million | $240.7 million | with Original Film, Revolution Studios, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| 2007 | Reign Over Me | Mike Binder | $20 million | $22.2 million | with Sunlight Productions, Relativity Media, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry | Dennis Dugan | $85 million | $187.1 million | with Shady Acres Entertainment and Relativity Media; distributed by Universal Pictures | ||
| 2008 | Strange Wilderness | Fred Wolf | $20 million | $6.9 million | with Level 1 Entertainment; distributed by Paramount Pictures | |
| You Don't Mess with the Zohan | Dennis Dugan | $90 million | $204.3 million | with Smigel/Dugan Productions, Relativity Media, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| The House Bunny | Fred Wolf | $25 million | $70.4 million | with Alta Loma Entertainment, Relativity Media, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Bedtime Stories | Adam Shankman | $80 million | $212.9 million | with Gunn Films, Conman & Izzy Productions, Offspring Entertainment, and Walt Disney Pictures; distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | ||
| 2009 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Steve Carr | $26 million | $183.3 million | with Relativity Media and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| Funny People | Judd Apatow | $75 million | $71.6 million | with Apatow Productions, Relativity Media, Universal Pictures, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Universal Pictures | ||
| The Shortcut | Nicholaus Goossen | $1 million | N/A | as Scary Madison Productions; with Leomax; distributed by Leomax and Mind's Eye Entertainment | ||
| 2010 | Grown Ups | Dennis Dugan | $80 million | $271.4 million | with Relativity Media and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| 2011 | Just Go with It | $80 million | $215 million | with Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Zookeeper | Frank Coraci | $80 million | $169.8 million | with Broken Road Productions, Hey Eddie Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star | Tom Brady | $10 million | $2.5 million | with Miles Deep Productions and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Jack and Jill | Dennis Dugan | $79 million | $149 million | with Broken Road Productions and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| 2012 | That's My Boy | Sean Anders | $70 million | $57.7 million | with Relativity Media and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | |
| Here Comes the Boom | Frank Coraci | $42 million | $73.1 million | with Broken Road Productions, Hey Eddie Productions, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| 2013 | Grown Ups 2 | Dennis Dugan | $80 million | $247 million | with Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | [7] |
| 2014 | Blended | Frank Coraci | $40 million | $128 million | with Gulfstream Pictures and RatPac-Dune Entertainment; distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures | [8] |
| 2015 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | Andy Fickman | $30 million | $107.6 million | with Broken Road Productions, Hey Eddie Productions, LStar Capital, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | [9] |
| Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser | Fred Wolf | $3.7 million | N/A | distributed by Crackle (through Sony Pictures Releasing) | [10] | |
| Pixels | Chris Columbus | $88 million | $244.9 million | with 1492 Pictures, LStar Capital, China Film Group Corporation, Film Croppers Entertainment, and Columbia Pictures; distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing | [11] | |
| The Ridiculous 6 | Frank Coraci | $60 million | N/A | distributed by Netflix | ||
| 2016 | The Do-Over | Steven Brill | $40 million | N/A | ||
| 2017 | Sandy Wexler | $24.3 million | N/A | |||
| 2018 | The Week Of | Robert Smigel | N/A | N/A | ||
| Father of the Year | Tyler Spindel | N/A | N/A | [12] | ||
| Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh | Steven Brill | N/A | N/A | |||
| 2019 | Murder Mystery | Kyle Newacheck | N/A | N/A | with Vinson Films, Endgame Entertainment, Mythology Entertainment, Denver and Delilah Productions, and Tower Hill Entertainment; distributed by Netflix | |
| 2020 | The Wrong Missy | Tyler Spindel | N/A | N/A | distributed by Netflix | [13] |
| Hubie Halloween | Steven Brill | $14 million[14] | N/A | |||
| 2022 | Home Team | Charles Kinnane Daniel Kinnane |
N/A | N/A | with Hey Eddie Productions; distributed by Netflix | |
| Hustle | Jeremiah Zagar | $21 million | N/A | with Roth/Kirschenbaum Films and SpringHill Company; distributed by Netflix | [15] | |
| 2023 | Murder Mystery 2 | Jeremy Garelick | N/A | N/A | with Echo Films, Mythology Entertainment, Vinson Films, and Endgame Entertainment; distributed by Netflix | [16] |
| The Out-Laws | Tyler Spindel | $47 million[17] | N/A | distributed by Netflix | [18] | |
| You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah | Sammi Cohen | N/A | N/A | with Alloy Entertainment; distributed by Netflix | [19] | |
| Leo | Robert Smigel Robert Marianetti David Wachtenheim |
N/A | N/A | with Netflix Animation; distributed by Netflix | [20] | |
| TBA | Kinda Pregnant | Tyler Spindel | N/A | N/A | with Something Happy Productions; distributed by Netflix | [21] |
| TBA | Happy Gilmore 2 | Kyle Newacheck | N/A | N/A | with STXfilms; distributed by Netflix | [22] |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2013 | Rules of Engagement | CBS | with Game Six Productions, CBS Television Studios, and Sony Pictures Television | |
| 2008 | The Gong Show with Dave Attell | Comedy Central | with Sony Pictures Television | |
| 2010–2011 | Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | with Culver Entertainment | ||
| 2011–2012 | Breaking In | Fox | with Adam F. Goldberg Productions and Sony Pictures Television | |
| 2013–2023 | The Goldbergs | ABC | co-production with Adam F. Goldberg Productions (seasons 1–8), Doug Robinson Productions (seasons 5–10), Swinging Cricket Productions (season 9), Script L. Shannon, Inc. (season 9), This Episode is Entirely a Work of Fiction, LLC (season 10), and Sony Pictures Television | |
| 2017 | Imaginary Mary | co-production with Adam F. Goldberg Productions, ABC Studios, and Sony Pictures Television | [23] | |
| 2019–2020 | Schooled | co-production with Adam F. Goldberg Productions, Marc Firek Productions, Doug Robinson Productions, ABC Studios, and Sony Pictures Television | ||
| 2024 | Adam Sandler: Love You | Netflix | co-production with Irwin Entertainment and Netflix | [24] |
Critical reception[]
Happy Madison's films have, for the most part, received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with most criticism targeted towards the crude humor, excessive product placement, celebrity cameos, and a sentimental ending that contradicts the film's mostly mean-spirited tone. Some drama films (Reign Over Me, Funny People, Hustle and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah) received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with Sandler's performance garnering critical praise. The company has put out four films considered to be some of the worst ever made, while two other films have received a 0% score from Rotten Tomatoes.[25][26][27][28]
| Year | Film | Rotten Tomatoes |
Metacritic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo | 22% | 30 |
| 2000 | Little Nicky | 22% | 38 |
| 2001 | Joe Dirt | 11% | 20 |
| 2001 | The Animal | 30% | 43 |
| 2002 | Mr. Deeds | 22% | 24 |
| 2002 | The Master of Disguise | 1% | 12 |
| 2002 | Eight Crazy Nights | 12% | 23 |
| 2002 | The Hot Chick | 22% | 29 |
| 2003 | Anger Management | 42% | 52 |
| 2003 | Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star | 22% | 36 |
| 2004 | 50 First Dates | 45% | 48 |
| 2005 | The Longest Yard | 31% | 48 |
| 2005 | Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo | 9% | 23 |
| 2006 | Grandma's Boy | 16% | 33 |
| 2006 | The Benchwarmers | 13% | 25 |
| 2006 | Click | 33% | 45 |
| 2007 | Reign Over Me | 64% | 61 |
| 2007 | I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry | 14% | 37 |
| 2008 | Strange Wilderness | 2% | 12 |
| 2008 | You Don't Mess with the Zohan | 37% | 54 |
| 2008 | The House Bunny | 43% | 55 |
| 2008 | Bedtime Stories | 26% | 33 |
| 2009 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | 33% | 39 |
| 2009 | Funny People | 69% | 60 |
| 2009 | The Shortcut | N/A | N/A |
| 2010 | Grown Ups | 10% | 30 |
| 2011 | Just Go with It | 19% | 33 |
| 2011 | Zookeeper | 14% | 30 |
| 2011 | Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star | 3% | 9 |
| 2011 | Jack and Jill | 3% | 23 |
| 2012 | That's My Boy | 20% | 31 |
| 2012 | Here Comes the Boom | 40% | 40 |
| 2013 | Grown Ups 2 | 7% | 19 |
| 2014 | Blended | 14% | 31 |
| 2015 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | 5% | 14 |
| 2015 | Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser | 10% | N/A |
| 2015 | Pixels | 17% | 27 |
| 2015 | The Ridiculous 6 | 0% | 18 |
| 2016 | The Do-Over | 10% | 22 |
| 2017 | Sandy Wexler | 27% | 39 |
| 2018 | The Week Of | 27% | 41 |
| 2018 | Father of the Year | 0% | N/A |
| 2018 | Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh | 90% | N/A |
| 2019 | Murder Mystery | 45% | 38 |
| 2020 | The Wrong Missy | 31% | 35 |
| 2020 | Hubie Halloween | 52% | 53 |
| 2022 | Home Team | 22% | 23 |
| 2022 | Hustle | 92% | 68 |
| 2023 | Murder Mystery 2 | 44% | 44 |
| 2023 | The Out-Laws | 21% | 36 |
| 2023 | You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah | 91% | 71 |
| 2023 | Leo | 81% | 65 |
References[]
- ↑ Adam Sandler (en) (13 October 2013).
- ↑ 100% Fresh Trailer Teases Adam Sandler's Netflix Variety Special (en-US) (2018-10-16).
- ↑ Locke, Taylor (2019-12-07). Adam Sandler on being fired from 'Saturday Night Live' in 1995 before achieving massive success (en).
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State Corporate Information for Happy Madison, Inc..
- ↑ Schneider, Michael (2002-10-04). Frog leaps on laffer from Sandler shingle (en-US).
- ↑ Otterson, Joe (2017-07-17). Doug Robinson Leaves Happy Madison for Overall Deal at Sony TV, Launches New Production Company (en-US).
- ↑ Grown Ups Sequel Planned. ComingSoon.net (7 December 2011).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore Comedy Blended Set For May 23, 2014". ComingSoon.net. April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ↑ Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Set for April 17, 2015. ComingSoon.net.
- ↑ David Spade is Back for Joe Dirt 2!. Comingsoon.net (11 October 2014).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Look out, Adam Sandler! It's Donkey Kong's Space Invading Frogger!". Entertainment Weekly. November 10, 2010. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Hubie Halloween (2020). Screenrant (25 October 2022).
- ↑ Adam Sandler's Next Netflix Movie Can Break Happy Madison's Losing Streak (en-US) (2021-05-06).
- ↑ Galuppo, Mia (24 January 2022). Jodie Turner-Smith, Mark Strong Join Netflix's 'Murder Mystery 2'.
- ↑ Mintzer, Jordan (July 7, 2023). 'The Out-Laws' Review: Adam Devine and Pierce Brosnan in an Uninspired Netflix Crime Comedy. The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (12 July 2021). Pierce Brosnan Joins Adam Devine in Netflix's Action-Comedy 'The Out-Laws'; Tyler Spindel To Direct.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (July 13, 2022). Adam Sandler, Idina Menzel & 'SNL's Sarah Sherman Among Cast Set For Netflix's YA Comedy 'You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah'; Happy Madison & Alloy Entertainment Producing.
- ↑ Moore, Kasey (January 18, 2023). Netflix Picks Up Adam Sandler Animated Movie 'Leo'; Releases in November 2023.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (November 30, 2023). Amy Schumer To Produce & Star In 'Kinda Pregnant' Comedy For Netflix, Happy Madison.
- ↑ Harrison, Scoop (September 9, 2024). Happy Gilmore 2 Officially Begins Production, Adam Sandler Reveals.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2016). Drama 'Notorious', Comedy 'Imaginary Mary' Picked Up To Series At ABC. Deadline.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (August 7, 2024). Netflix Unveils Premiere Date, Trailer For Adam Sandler's Comedy Special 'Love You' Directed By Josh Safdie.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The tragedy of Adam Sandler". Salon. 2011-11-14. Archived from the original on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Comedy about middle school statutory rape? Does Adam Sandler's That's My Boy go too far?". Fox News. 2012-04-30. Archived from the original on 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ Is Adam Sandler Serious With That's My Boy? | DrJays.com Live | Fashion. Music. Lifestyle. Live.drjays.com (2012-05-21).
- ↑ Adam Sandler's new movie That's My Boy exploits child victims of sexual assault. Please boycott the movie. | National Coalition For Men. NCFM (2 May 2012).
External links[]
- Happy Madison page on Sandler's website
| v - e - d
| |
|---|---|
| Film | Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) • Little Nicky (2000) • Joe Dirt (2001) • The Animal (2001) • Mr. Deeds (2002) • The Master of Disguise (2002) • Eight Crazy Nights (2002) • The Hot Chick (2002) • Anger Management (2003) • Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) • 50 First Dates (2004) • The Longest Yard (2005) • Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) • Grandma's Boy (2006) • The Benchwarmers (2006) • Click (2006) • Reign Over Me (2007) • I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007) • Strange Wilderness (2008) • You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) • The House Bunny (2008) • Bedtime Stories (2008) • Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) • Funny People (2009) • The Shortcut (2009) • Grown Ups (2010) • Just Go with It (2011) • Zookeeper (2011) • Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) • Jack and Jill (2011) • That's My Boy (2012) • Here Comes the Boom (2012) • Grown Ups 2 (2013) • Blended (2014) • Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) • Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser (2015) • Pixels (2015) • The Ridiculous 6 (2015) • The Do-Over (2016) • Sandy Wexler (2017) • The Week Of (2018) • Father of the Year (2018) • Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh (2018) • Murder Mystery (2019) • The Wrong Missy (2020) • Hubie Halloween (2020) • Home Team (2022) • Hustle (2022) • Murder Mystery 2 (2023) • The Out-Laws (2023) • You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) • Leo (2023) • Kinda Pregnant (2024) |
| Founders | Adam Sandler • Jack Giarraputo • Tim Herlihy • Heather Parry • Scott Sandler • Barry Bernardi • Steve Koren • Mark O'Keefe • Seth Gordon • Timothy Dowling |
| Television | Rules of Engagement (2007–2013) • The Gong Show with Dave Attell (2008) • Nick Swardson's Pretend Time (2010-2011) • Breaking In (2011-2012) • The Goldbergs (2013-2023) • Imaginary Mary (2017) • Schooled (2019-2020) |
v - e - d | ||
|---|---|---|
| Films | Films written | Going Overboard (1989) • Billy Madison (1995) • The Waterboy (1998) • Big Daddy (1999) • Little Nicky (2000) • Eight Crazy Nights (2002, also produced) • You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008, also produced) • Grown Ups (2010, also produced) • Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011, also produced) • Jack and Jill (2011, also produced) • Grown Ups 2 (2013, also produced) • Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) • The Ridiculous 6 (2015, also produced) • Sandy Wexler (2017, also produced) • The Week Of (2018, also produced) • Hubie Halloween (2020, also produced) • Leo (2023, also produced) |
| Films produced only | Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) • Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) • The Benchwarmers (2006) • Click (2006) • I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007) • The House Bunny (2008) • Bedtime Stories (2008) • Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) • Just Go with It (2011) • Zookeeper (2011) • That's My Boy (2012) • Blended (2014) • Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) • Pixels (2015) • The Do-Over (2016) • Murder Mystery (2019) • Home Team (2022) • Hustle (2022) • Murder Mystery 2 (2023) • The Out-Laws (2023) • You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) • Kinda Pregnant (2024) | |
| Skits | "Gay Robot" | |
| Related | Happy Madison Productions | |
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