Honestly, trying to track exactly what movies are adam sandler in is like trying to count every grain of sand on a Jersey Shore beach. The guy is everywhere. If you haven’t seen him screaming at a golf ball or weeping over a magical remote, have you even watched TV in the last thirty years?
Sandler isn’t just a "movie star" anymore. He’s a genre. He is a multi-billion dollar ecosystem for Netflix.
He recently made headlines at the 2026 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards with a pretty wild promise: he’s going to make 50 more movies before he kicks the bucket. He joked that at least 25 of them will actually be good. That’s the "Sandman" for you—self-aware, incredibly busy, and perpetually dressed like he’s about to go pick up a pizza in 1996.
The Classics Everyone Remembers
You probably know the big ones. These are the movies that played on a loop in every dorm room and suburban basement during the late 90s.
- Billy Madison (1995): The one where he goes back to first grade.
- Happy Gilmore (1996): Hockey player turns golfer. Absolute legendary status.
- The Wedding Singer (1998): Where we all realized he and Drew Barrymore have the best chemistry in Hollywood history.
- The Waterboy (1998): High-quality H2O.
- Big Daddy (1999): Basically the bridge between his "angry young man" phase and the "family man" era.
These films weren't exactly critical darlings. In fact, most critics absolutely hated them at the time. But they made a killing at the box office because they tapped into a very specific, weirdly lovable brand of juvenile aggression.
The Netflix Era: A Decade of the "Sandlerverse"
If you’ve logged into Netflix at any point in the last ten years, you've seen his face. Since signing that massive deal back in 2014—which has been renewed multiple times for hundreds of millions—Sandler has shifted his focus almost entirely to streaming.
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It’s a smart move. He gets to go to Hawaii or Italy with his best friends (Kevin James, David Spade, Chris Rock), film a comedy, and get paid more than most small countries' GDPs.
Recent Netflix Hits and Misses
The "Sandlerverse" on Netflix is a mixed bag. You have the "vacation movies" like Murder Mystery and Murder Mystery 2 with Jennifer Aniston. People love these. They are easy watches. Then you have the weirder stuff like Hubie Halloween (2020), which was basically a love letter to his late co-star Cameron Boyce.
More recently, we’ve seen him lean into animation and family stuff. Leo (2023) was a massive hit. Like, "329 million viewing hours" massive. He voiced an old lizard in a school classroom, and it actually had a lot of heart.
Then there’s the 2025/2026 slate. We just saw the release of Happy Gilmore 2. Fans waited thirty years for that one. It was filmed in New Jersey with a $30 million budget—a huge jump from the $12 million original. It’s packed with cameos and that same chaotic energy, though everyone’s a bit greyer now.
The "Serious" Actor: When He Actually Tries
This is the part of the conversation where people get defensive. Is Adam Sandler a good actor?
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Yes. Actually, he’s a great one.
Whenever he works with "prestige" directors, he turns into a completely different person. He stops the shouting and the funny voices and becomes this wounded, twitchy, deeply relatable guy.
The Dramatic Standouts
- Punch-Drunk Love (2002): Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. This was the first time people realized Sandler could really act. He plays a lonely guy with social anxiety and a lot of hidden rage.
- The Meyerowitz Stories (2017): A Noah Baumbach film. He’s alongside Dustin Hoffman and Ben Stiller. It’s a quiet, smart movie about family resentment.
- Uncut Gems (2019): This one was stressful. He plays Howard Ratner, a jeweler with a gambling addiction. He should have been nominated for an Oscar. He wasn't. He threatened to make a movie "so bad on purpose" if he didn't win. (Some say Hubie Halloween was that movie, but who knows?)
- Hustle (2022): He plays a basketball scout. It’s probably his most "likable" serious role. It currently holds one of his highest scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
What Movies Are Adam Sandler In Right Now? (2025-2026)
As of early 2026, he’s not slowing down. He just wrapped Jay Kelly, another collaboration with Noah Baumbach. This one is a big deal—it’s got George Clooney, Laura Dern, and Riley Keough. In fact, Sandler just snagged a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this role.
He’s also working on Roommates, a comedy where he stars alongside his daughter, Sadie Sandler. It’s directed by Chandler Levack and features people like Natasha Lyonne and Nick Kroll.
And for the Safdie fans? There is still that "Untitled Safdie Brothers Project" floating around. It’s reportedly about the world of high-end sports memorabilia and baseball cards in 90s NYC. It got delayed because of the strikes, but it's one of the most anticipated things in the "Sandler-sphere."
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Why We Still Care
It’s easy to poke fun at the guy for wearing basketball shorts to the Oscars or for making Jack and Jill. But there’s a reason he’s the highest-paid actor in the business.
He’s loyal. He hires his friends. He keeps his family involved. Most importantly, he knows exactly what his audience wants. Whether it’s a high-stress thriller or a movie where he talks to a giant spider in space (Spaceman, 2024), he shows up.
Actionable Insights for the Sandler Fan:
- For the "Classic" Vibe: Watch Happy Gilmore and follow it immediately with Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix to see the 30-year evolution.
- For the "Prestige" Vibe: Check out The Meyerowitz Stories or Jay Kelly. They show a side of him that isn't just slapstick.
- The "Secret" Code: If you're on Netflix, search for the code 81614575. It’s the "Welcome to the Sandlerverse" category that lists every single project he’s touched on the platform.
Keep an eye on the trades for that Safdie project. If it’s anything like Uncut Gems, it’s going to be the most intense thing he’s ever done. He’s currently balancing the "one for them, one for me" strategy perfectly. Half his movies are for the paycheck and the vacation; the other half are for the history books.
Next Steps for Your Watchlist:
If you want to dive deeper into his filmography, start by comparing his 90s work with his recent Netflix output. You'll notice he's traded the high-energy screaming for a more mellow, "tired dad" energy that somehow works just as well. Log into Netflix and use that category code mentioned above to see the full list of what's currently streaming in your region.