Company type | Private |
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Industry | |
Founded | December 10, 1999 |
Founder | Adam Sandler |
Headquarters |
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Key people |
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Owners | Adam Sandler Jack Giarraputo |
Parent | Happy Madison, Inc. |
Divisions | Madison 23 Productions (2007–2009) Scary Madison Productions (2009) |
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 would leave 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 towards the drama genre. It only produced two films: Reign Over Me and Funny People , which both starred Sandler. Another subsidiary was Scary Madison Productions, which was aimed towards the horror genre and only produced the film The Shortcut .
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 | [22] | |
2019–2020 | Schooled | co-production with Adam F. Goldberg Productions, Marc Firek Productions, Doug Robinson Productions, ABC Studios, and Sony Pictures Television |
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. [23] [24] [25] [26]
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor and comedian. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, his accolades include nominations for three Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2023, Sandler was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Robert Michael Schneider is an American actor, comedian and anti-vaccine activist. After several years performing stand-up comedy, Schneider achieved wider success as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1994.
The Waterboy is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Jerry Reed, Larry Gilliard, Jr., Blake Clark, Peter Dante, and Jonathan Loughran play other characters.
Happy Gilmore is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, produced by Robert Simonds, and starring Adam Sandler in the title role, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen and Carl Weathers.
Timothy Patrick Herlihy is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and playwright.
Jack Giarraputo is an American film producer who co-founded Happy Madison with Adam Sandler. Most of his work has been in films starring Sandler.
The House Bunny is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Fred Wolf, written by the writing team of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Anna Faris, Allen Covert, and Heather Parry. The film stars Faris, Colin Hanks, and Emma Stone, and tells the story of a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the "house mother" of an unpopular university sorority after finding out she must leave the Playboy Mansion.
Funny People is a 2009 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Judd Apatow, co-produced by Apatow Productions and Madison 23 Productions, and starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann with Eric Bana, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman in supporting roles. The film follows a famous comedian who is diagnosed with a terminal disease and tries to fix the relationships in his life while befriending an aspiring comedian.
The Ridiculous 6 is a 2015 American Western action comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler, and starring Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Luke Wilson. As Happy Madison Productions' first Western film, the plot follows six men who discover that they share the same bank-robbing father and thereafter set out to reunite with him.
The Do-Over is a 2016 American buddy action comedy film directed by Steve Brill, and written by Kevin Barnett and Chris Pappas. The movie follows Charlie and Max after Max fakes their deaths in order to start their lives anew. Things go awry when they discover that the dead men whose identities they have adopted were entangled in criminal activities. Paula Patton, Kathryn Hahn and Luis Guzmán also star.
Elysa Koplovitz Dutton is a veteran film producer and production executive, currently serving as Executive Vice President of the feature film division of Alloy Entertainment, a creator and producer of youth-oriented content in books, television, and film. The Los Angeles and New York-based production company officially became part of Warner Bros. Television in 2012, which later evolved into WarnerMedia. She is the author of the Penguin/Random House children's book Christmas Forever: Escape to the North Pole, illustrated by Manu Montoya, which publishes in October 2024.
Murder Mystery is a 2019 American comedy mystery film directed by Kyle Newacheck and written by James Vanderbilt. The film stars Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Luke Evans, and follows a married couple who are caught up in a murder investigation on a billionaire's yacht. It was released on June 14, 2019, by Netflix. It received mixed reviews from critics. A sequel was released by Netflix on March 31, 2023.
Father of the Year is a 2018 American comedy film directed by Tyler Spindel. The film stars David Spade, Nat Faxon, Joey Bragg, Matt Shively, and Bridgit Mendler.
The Wrong Missy is a 2020 American romantic black comedy film directed by Tyler Spindel which was produced by Happy Madison Productions. With a screenplay by Chris Pappas and Kevin Barnett, the film stars David Spade as a recently single businessman who accidentally invites a woman with whom he had a horrible first date to a corporate retreat after a case of mistaken identity.
Home Team is a 2022 American biographical sports comedy film directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane, written by Chris Titone and Keith Blum, and starring Kevin James in the lead role, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, Jackie Sandler, and Tait Blum. Inspired by actual events, the film tells the story of New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton who coached his 12-year-old son's football team during his one-year suspension from the NFL.
Tyler Crumley is an American actor. He is best known for his appearance as Jonah Rayfield in the episode These Old Bones of the Netflix original series Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, starring Kathleen Turner. The series has been nominated for Outstanding Television Movie at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2020.
The Out-Laws is a 2023 American action comedy film directed by Tyler Spindel, written by Evan Turner and Ben Zazove, produced by Adam Sandler, Adam DeVine, and Allen Covert. It stars Adam DeVine, Nina Dobrev, Ellen Barkin, and Pierce Brosnan. The plot follows a bank manager on his wedding week whose bank is robbed by criminals that he very strongly suspects might be his future in-laws which gets proven right as he works with them when a crime boss that the criminals made enemies abducts his fiancé.
Tyler Spindel is an American comedian, actor and director. He is also the nephew of Adam Sandler. He is best known for his work on Father of the Year, The Wrong Missy and The Out-Laws.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is a 2023 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Sammi Cohen, written by Alison Peck, and produced by Adam Sandler. Based on the 2005 young adult novel of the same name, the film stars Sandler and his wife, Jackie Sandler, as well as his daughters, Sadie and Sunny Sandler. It also stars Samantha Lorraine, Idina Menzel, Dylan Hoffman, Sarah Sherman, Dan Bulla, Ido Mosseri, Jackie Hoffman, and Luis Guzmán. It tells the story of two best friends whose bat mitzvah plans go awry as they fight for the attention of the same popular boy.
Kinda Pregnant is an upcoming comedy film for Netflix from Adam Sandler and Amy Schumer.