Adam Sandler's 'Ridiculous Six' Is Making History for Netflix

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Adam Sandler in ‘The Ridiculous Six’ (Netflix)

By Margaret Lenker

Since premiering last month on Netflix, The Ridiculous Six hasn’t exactly been riding stellar buzz. In his review, Variety‘s Justin Chang wrote the Adam Sandler comedy was “so lazy and aimless, it barely qualifies as parody.”

But according to Netflix, the slapstick Western is hardly a joke.

During their CES keynote on Wednesday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos offered some insight into the company’s movie business as well as the eye-popping performance of Sandler’s new film.

Since debuting exclusively on Netflix, The Ridiculous Six has been seen more times in 30 days than any other movie in Netflix history.

“It’s also enjoyed a spot at #1 in every territory we operate in, and in many of them it’s still #1,” Sarandos added.

Some outlets erroneously reported on Wednesday that Ridiculous Six was the most-watched Netflix title in history. A source later clarified: it’s the most streams ever in 30 days of release.

Still, an impressive feat for Sandler and Netflix. In 2014, the duo signed a ground-breaking deal that called for four original movies, beginning with The Ridiculous Six.

“Adam believes his audience is mostly at home and he’s probably right,” Sarandos said in a recent interview with Variety.

Produced by Happy Madison, The Ridiculous Six is a spoof of the Western The Magnificent Seven and features several of Sandler’s recurring co-stars including Will Forte, Steve Buscemi, Terry Crews and Rob Schneider.

The movie set off a wave of controversy last year after a dozen Native Americans walked off the film’s set because of offensive jokes in the script.

“The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous,” said a Netflix spokesperson. “It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke.”

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