This past Thursday, Adam Sandler signed a four-movie deal with Netflix that will allow some of his most popular films to premiere exclusively in the 50 countries where Netflix operates. According to Business Insider, Sandler's films have grossed more than $3 billion globally at the box office, and have made him one of the world's top movie stars. Netflix considers him one of the few actors in the world whose films consistently rank among the most viewed by Netflix members.

Netflix chief officer Ted Sarandos commented, "People love Adam's films on Netflix and often watch them again and again. His appeal 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," further attesting to Sandlers' popularity.

Hearing the news about Sandler's new deal probably confused some people, seeing as his movies have been performing progressively worse stateside. However, the popularity of his movies overseas needs to be taken into account - four of his films since 2011 have been doing better at the foreign box office than they have domestically.

There is no word on the deal terms so far, but Sandler reportedly gets a little over $15 million per movie from traditional studios. Sandler imparted some of his humor into the press release concerning the deal - he stated, "I immediately said yes for one reason and one reason only. Netflix rhymes with Wet Chicks. Let the streaming begin!!!"

However, Sandler's deal with Netflix has turned a few heads for the wrong reasons. According to the Washington Post, several theater companies are criticizing Netflix, and have even threatened to boycott any film that appears on Netflix first.

Russ Nunley, spokesman for Regal Cinemas, stated, "We believe the choice for truly enjoying a magnificent movie is clear... [Regal Cinemas] will not participate in an experiment where you can see the same product on screens varying from three stories tall to three inches wide on a smartphone."

Sarandos rebutted, saying, "The existing business models for movies are hugely frustrating for today's on-demand consumer... Everyone has a big stake in the status quo, and incumbents don't like change."