Thomas Roach on whether Adam Sandler’s deal with Netflix will harm the company….
I personally feel that Netflix is a fantastic service which one day will over take the film industry. Rather than just producing original series, the streaming service is moving into producing its own movies. Netflix and actor Adam Sandler have just made a deal which will mean four new Adam Sandler movies will be exclusive to Netflix. This is a good idea but frankly Adam Sandler is probably not the best person to strike this deal with.
From a financial point of view it may be wise. Adam Sandler has had a great deal of success with all his films grossing extraordinary amounts of money. Despite his films generally not being liked by critics or even a lot of movie goers, people buy tickets, therefore there is clearly an audience for them. This is clearly an attempt for all people who go and see Adam Sandler movies to get a Netlfix subscription and thus boosting the service’s revenue. This will be a good thing as more money means more original content and better content.
Not all of Netflix’s original content is great in my opinion. The highlight for me is House of Cards which I really think is one of the best shows not on television (although if it was on TV it would still be one of the best). Adam Sandler movies are not great quality. Mostly, they suck. Not all of them but most. This is just my opinion – some love his films and get his comedy whilst others will see whatever is advertised.
Netflix investing in someone who is successful is a risk. Netflix has created some brilliant content like House of Cards, which has got lots of people onto Netflix. If it’s good ,they will come. Kevin Spacey has praised the quality of the show and the streaming service. Giving the power to the viewer is a good thing and the audience is not dumb as people think. We like good quality programmes and great films. Netflix backing Adam Sandler in my opinion makes a mockery of the Netflix audience.
The deal is that Sandler and Netflix will collaborate on four movies and that is a done deal. Which means even if the first movie is terrible then Netflix needs to foot the bill for the other three movies. I fear that when active users of Netflix see the quality of original content diminish then they may be reluctant to stay with the service. This could in fact harm the amount of subscriptions that they have. Maybe the many Adam Sandler fans out there will subscribe to the service but loyal fans may be leave. It could boost revenue but Netflix would be losing loyal supporters. Of couse, I could be very wrong and these Sandler films could be great assets to Netflix.
Overall, it is a shame that Adam Sandler has made this deal in my opinion as his films really lack quality. However maybe the collaboration with Netflix could encourage Sandler to make something decent. I’m afraid that the Sandler films will flop and this may harm the streaming service and slow down the revolution of streaming content. I could be very surprised and the films may be fantastic but the track record is not good. Only time will tell if this is beneficial.
How do you feel about Netflix’s deal with Adam Sandler? Are you looking forward to these new movies?
Thomas Roach
Originally published October 6, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
