Four new Adam Sandler movies are coming exclusively to Netflix

Netflix plans to announce on Thursday that it has struck a deal with the comedian Adam Sandler to produce and star in four new feature films that will appear exclusively on the streaming service. Mr. Sandler ranks as one of the most popular movie stars on Netflix, with his films consistently among the most viewed on the service both in the United States and around the world, said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix. Through the agreement, Netflix will solely finance the films and will work with Happy Madison Productions, which was founded by Mr. Sandler, on them. Netflix declined to comment on specific terms of the deal, but said the films would have the characteristics of theatrical releases, with similar-size budgets. (The production budgets for Mr. Sandler’s recent films have ranged from about $40 million to $80 million.) Production meetings with Mr. Sandler are just starting, and the first film could appear on Netflix as soon as 2015, Mr. Sarandos said.