After Barbie's massive success at the box office and Award Season, Mattel quickly started working on another big screen adaptation. That title arrived in theaters this past weekend: Travis Knight's Masters of the Universe starring Nicholas Galitzine. Unfortunately the movie failed to make money in its opening weekend, but Amazon doesn't seem to think it's actually a flop. Let's break it all down.
MOTU was expected to have a soft opening, and that's exactly what happened during its first weekend in theaters. Scary Movie beat it at the box office, with Knight's movie making a reported $54.3 million so far on a budget of around $200 million. While some might call this a failure, Amazon MGM’s domestic distribution chief Kevin Wilson offered another perspective to Variety. He was quoted saying:
Travis Knight and the entire cast and filmmaking team have delivered something truly special, and this opening is exactly the kind of critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy—building awareness and engagement that will carry well beyond the theatrical window.
Well, that's certainly a more positive outlook on the movie's first weekend at the box office. It sounds like the folks at Amazon MGM are still feeling positive about Masters of the Universe, and are confident the movie will be remembered fondly long after its run in theaters. We'll just have to wait and see if it ends up making more money at time goes on.
While Amazon could have simply put out MOTU on streaming, the fact that it went to theaters is a boon for the industry as a whole. Both theaters and the studio get to make money from this, although there's more opportunity for profitability once Travis Knight's movie hits homes. Because once He-Man and company hit streaming, Amazon can make more money through ads on the Prime Video. Whether its a longer ad before the movie or breaks throughout its runtime, Masters of the Universe still has the chance to make tons of money for the studio after its tenure in theaters.
Critical response for Masters of the Universe was largely positive, with folks praising the movie's comedy, as well as its visuals and performances. But its uphill battle at the box office might be for a few reasons. To start, He-Man and MOTU is an IP that's largely popular from the '80s. While it's got nostalgic power, it hasn't necessarily been a player in the modern pop culture landscape. So younger moviegoers might not have shown out in theaters.
It should be interesting to see how much more money MOTU makes during its run at the box office, as well as how it performs once it goes to streaming. The movie's ending definitely left some narrative threads open for a potential sequel, especially its mid-credits scene. But whether or not they'll be able to see these play out with a follow-up movie remains to be seen.
The fact that Amazon MGM is so positive about the movie is a hopeful sign for those hoping to see another Masters of the Universe movie. The franchise has a ton of beloved characters that could potentially join in a sequel, as well as the starring cast of Travis Knight's first movie. Only time will tell the burgeoning franchise's future.
Masters of the Universe is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. He-Man and his friends are on the big screen, hopefully they get to return sometime in the future.
