Netflix Spent $152 Million Making Happy Gilmore 2

If you thought artificial intelligence was going to lower the production costs for movies with intense visual effects, that certainly wasn’t the case for Happy Gilmore 2.

According to a new report from the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, the Adam Sandler sequel had a total qualified spend of $152.5 million during the 64 days that were spent filming in the state. That includes $1.2 million spent on lodging and $6.4 million on extras, totaling $2.4 million in daily spend.

Unlike most economic projections, we know this number is accurate. Netflix agrees to have the movie’s finances audited by the state of New Jersey in order to receive its tax credit. In fact, the real number is probably even higher. New Jersey places a cap on wages and only accounts for money spent within the state. That means everything else — post-production, marketing, etc. — is in addition to the $152.5 million budget.

To put this number into context, a production budget of over $150 million makes Happy Gilmore 2 one of the top 5-10 most expensive movies that Netflix has ever produced. The original film only cost $25 million to make, even after accounting for inflation. And $150 million is also $50 million more than the budget for John Wick 4, a highly sophisticated action movie with nearly three hours of continuous fight scenes.

So what was all of this money spent on? And more importantly, how can Netflix justify spending so much money on a movie that will never even hit theaters?