Comedy vet Adam Sandler to make four Netflix-only films

Netflix added insult to injury Thursday by announcing plans to finance four feature films starring Adam Sandler that will skip the theater circuit and premiere exclusively on the network.

The move follows Monday’s news that, on Aug. 28, 2015, Netflix will release a sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” only on Netflix and in those Imax theaters that chose to show it.

The country’s major theater chains regard both actions as endangering Hollywood’s traditional “windowing” sequence, where theaters get first showings and pay-TV gets it after 90 days. It’s a schedule they believe has benefitted studios and cinemas alike for decades.

Netflix, with 50 million members in nearly 50 countries, is clearly bent on disrupting both TV-viewing and movie-going as we know it.

For its second foray into movie production, Netflix said it will work alongside Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions to create vehicles for the actor whose appeal, according to Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, “spans across viewers of all ages — everybody has a favorite movie, everyone has a favorite line — not just in the US but all over the world.”

Sandler said in a statement he jumped at the opportunity “for one reason and one reason only — Netflix rhymes with Wet Chicks.”

Netflix didn’t reveal budgets for the forthcoming movies, but the May release of “Blended,” a typical romantic comedy starring Sandler, cost about $40 million to make and went on to gross $127 million worldwide.