Adam Sandler’s Despised Family Comedy Movie He Strangely Likened to ‘Ghostbusters’ Is a Surprise Streaming Hit 10 Years Later

Adam Sandler‘s filmography is full of huge highs and terrible lows. From the incredible Uncut Gems and the mesmeric Punch-Drunk Love, to the dreadful 2024 effort Spaceman, the Saturday Night Live product will always prove controversial to movie fans. However, no film has perhaps earned the ire of theatergoers in Sandler’s career more than 2015’s Pixels, the tale of an alien invasion of Earth inspired by video games that was marketed as a “comedy.”

Despite featuring a stacked cast including the likes of Peter Dinklage, long-time Sandler collaborator Kevin James, Josh Gad, and Michelle Monaghan, as well as an unlikely cameo from tennis icon Serena Williams, Pixels simply couldn’t produce much positivity from critics or fans. This led to one of the worst score pairings in Sandler’s career on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, including a dismal 18% critics’ score, and a 46% audience rating that tries to salvage some respect. Nevertheless, despite all that, Pixels has found some unlikely success a decade on from its 2015 release, officially becoming one of the 10 most-watched movies on Amazon Prime in the US, as of June 24, 2025.

Entering the list at #10, Pixels joins a plethora of high-profile titles finding triumph currently on Prime. This includes, at #9, Jason Statham‘s once-thought-forgotten 2013 release, Homefront, with another Sandler flick in eighth place: Billy Madison. At #7 is Dax Shepard‘s CHiPS, with Glen Powell’s legacy sequel Twisters at #6, and noughties comedy White Chicks at #5. Tom Cruise‘s Oblivion just misses out on the top three at #4, with the Ben Affleck-led The Accountant at #3, and the brand-new hilarious comedy Deep Cover at #2. Top of Prime Video’s movie streaming charts as of June 24 is The Accountant 2, which has joined the streamer following an underwhelming box office run.

How Did ‘Pixels’ Perform at the 2015 Box Office?

Thankfully for Sandler, Pixels performed much better financially than it did with critics. Produced on a reported production budget of $90 million, Pixels finished the 2015 box office with a $244 million return worldwide, split between a domestic haul of $78.7 million and $165.2 million from overseas markets. Finishing the year as the 31st highest-grossing movie globally, even outperforming the likes of Everest, Ted 2, and Creed, Pixels‘ box office success proves that reaction and financial triumph are sometimes entirely unconnected, although strong word-of-mouth will always prove helpful when trying to return an investment.

Pixels is streaming now on Prime. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.