Click (2006 film)

Plot

In 2006, architect Michael Newman is taken advantage of by his overbearing boss John Ammer and often prioritizes work over his parents, his wife Donna, and their children Ben and Samantha. One night, after an argument with Donna about cancelling a family trip, he visits Bed Bath & Beyond to buy a universal remote. He falls asleep on a display bed, then enters the 'Beyond' door and meets a man named Morty, who gives him a prototype universal remote and warns that it cannot be returned.

Michael discovers the remote can control his entire life. He uses it to fast-forward past inconveniences, with Morty explaining that during those times his body is on auto-pilot. Anticipating a promotion after using the remote at a work dinner, Michael spends lavishly, but Ammer reveals he must wait months. Michael skips ahead to the promotion, which skips an entire year.

In 2007, he is in marriage counseling, the family dog has died, and the remote begins fast-forwarding automatically through problems. Michael tries to get rid of the remote, but it reappears. Morty refuses to take it back, fulfilling his warning.

Production

On July 23, 2003, Sony Pictures purchased the spec script for $1.75 million, planning it as an Adam Sandler film produced by Revolution Studios, Columbia Pictures, and Neal H. Moritz's Original Film. The purchase occurred as Bruce Almighty, also written by Koren and O'Keefe, had grossed $236 million domestically. Click was the second comedy Moritz produced for Columbia after Not Another Teen Movie. Although Sony planned filming to begin in April 2004 after Sandler finished Spanglish, it was postponed for rewrites under Juan José Campanella, announced as director in May 2004.

He was replaced by Frank Coraci in March 2005. Christopher Walken joined the cast on February 23, 2005. Principal photography started on July 6, 2005, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the start of principal photography for Happy Gilmore. Imageworks began digital effects work in January 2006 without research and development.

Effects included shot compositings, 3D graphics for the remote display, and matte paintings for settings like the Bed Bath & Beyond warehouse. Programs such as Cinema 4D and Autodesk Maya were used. Motion control photography and green screen effects created scenes with two Michaels; rotoscoping was used for the face-color change sequence.

Release and promotion

The film's trailer was the only content on the official Click website when it launched in late December 2005. Critic C.S. Strowbridge of The Numbers praised it, suggesting Adam Sandler seemed committed to a more mature acting style. Additional website features like a plot summary, image gallery, cast and crew details, audio and video clips, and a Control Your Universe poster generator were added later. The movie was shown out of competition at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Its United States release came on June 23, 2006, followed by a UK premiere at a London Empire Cinema on September 28, 2006. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment issued Click on DVD, Blu-ray, and UMD on October 10, 2006, marking the company's first dual layer Blu-ray disc. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version arrived on June 23, 2026, just before the film's twentieth anniversary.

Reception

Before the theatrical run, Strowbridge predicted Click would be one of Sandler's lesser hits due to weak critical reception and the commercial failure of Spanglish, but suggested it could gross up to $125 million. Nikki Finke projected a $40 million opening weekend based on prior Sony-produced Sandler comedies. Entertainment Weekly's Joshua Rich projected a $55 million opening weekend and $210 million total gross. Domestically, Click opened in 3,749 theaters and debuted at number-one, grossing $14.5 million on its opening day and $40 million in its opening weekend; it was Sony's seventh number-one hit of 2006.

Exit polls showed 51% of attendees were female and 50% over age 25. Click was one of three films to surpass a $10,000 theater average that weekend with $10,673. In its second weekend, it fell approximately 50% to $20 million and was dethroned by Superman Returns, but The Devil Wears Prada opened with double the projected gross, placing Click at number three. During its third weekend, when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest debuted, Click dropped only 40%, the second-strongest hold among top-five competitors.

It surpassed the $100 million mark that weekend, becoming the seventh Sandler film to do so. It later grossed $143.4 million in the United States and $125.3 million internationally, for a total of $268.7 million worldwide.