The box office knives are already out for the 2026 movie calendar release, Masters of the Universe, which is probably inevitable when a big, expensive-looking He-Man movie heads into theaters with soft tracking attached. A lot of the early review chatter has framed Amazon MGM’s fantasy reboot as a likely flop before it even has a chance to lift the sword. I get the instinct, but I also think that framing misses much of what makes this release interesting and why it should be seen as less of a disaster than The Mandalorian and Grogu’s second week in theaters.
According to Boxoffice Pro’s Long Range Forecast, Masters of the Universe is tracking for a $30 million to $40 million domestic opening when it opens on June 5. That would be a muted start for a major franchise play, especially one built around a legacy toy brand with Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Jared Leto as Skeletor and Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn. Still, a soft opening for an Amazon MGM movie does not mean the same thing as a brutal second-week drop for The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Masters Of The Universe Just Got An IMAX Boost
One curious late development is that Masters of the Universe picked up IMAX screens at the last minute. IGN reports IMAX made room for the film after The Mandalorian and Grogu opened up space earlier than expected, with tickets going on sale just one week before the movie’s release.
That is good news for fans who want to see Eternia on the biggest screen possible, and it suggests Amazon MGM is still giving this thing a real theatrical swing. Unlike Netflix, which often treats theatrical releases like a velvet rope outside a streaming premiere, Amazon is putting Masters of the Universe into theaters for an actual run.
It may not explode out of the gate, but there is value in a streamer-backed studio still treating theatrical as something worth doing.
Early Buzz Could Give Masters Of The Universe Some Muscle
The good news is that early buzz has been warmer than the “this thing is doomed” chatter might suggest. Film commentator and critic Perri Nemiroff posted on X that Masters of the Universe could be one of her biggest surprises of 2026, saying she was swept away by its “super vibrant, weird and gleeful” energy.
Bound to be one of the biggest surprises of 2026 for me — I loved MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.I'm a huge fan of a lot of the folks involved, but it was never really my thing growing up and I kind of assumed the same would be true now. Also, based on what I do know of the source… pic.twitter.com/u0ecHjbWgMMay 19, 2026
Critics have been saying similar things. Mashable’s Kristy Puchko admitted her expectations were low before ultimately saying she really enjoyed Travis Knight’s take on the material, while The Irish Times called the film “all solid good fun” and “a minor miracle.” That doesn’t guarantee a breakout, but it sounds, by all accounts, the movie may have more going for it than tracking alone can show.
If families, nostalgic He-Man fans and curious folks with a Prime Video subscription hear the movie actually works, Masters of the Universe may have a better shot at hanging around than the early doom cycle suggests.
Amazon’s Math Is Not Disney’s Math
Of course, Amazon would love a hit. Nobody spends this much money on producing a big-budget fantasy flick because they hope for “decent enough.” But Amazon also has Prime Video waiting in the background, which changes how the movie should be judged.
A theatrical release can bring in real money, but for Amazon, it can also act as an awareness campaign before the movie eventually becomes a Prime title. That does not make the box office irrelevant. It just means a softer opening is not automatically a flaming wreck.
The challenge is that audiences know this, too. Amazon has trained many viewers to expect its movies to stream later. Even with a full theatrical rollout, some people will look at Masters of the Universe and decide to wait for the couch.
The Mandalorian And Grogu Has Heavier Baggage
That is why the Mandalorian and Grogu box-office comparison is a bit of an "apples-to-oranges" comparison. If Masters of the Universe opens soft, it is a stumble for a franchise trying to regain theatrical relevance. If a new Star Wars movie falls hard in Week 2 and gives up premium-format space sooner than expected, that feels like a warning light on a much bigger machine.
Star Wars is not supposed to be a bonus add-on for a Disney+ subscription. It is a legacy brand that has been around for decades. It's one of the first major film franchises that, in many ways, taught Hollywood how to think about blockbusters. The Mandalorian began as a streaming phenomenon, but bringing that story to theaters was meant to prove it could return to theaters.
That is a harder ask than what Masters of the Universe is facing. He-Man has nostalgia and a passionate fan base, but it is not carrying the same burden as Star Wars. So, yes, Masters of the Universe may have a soft opening weekend, but if it gets a real theatrical run, builds awareness and becomes a splashy Prime offering later, that is not the same kind of problem as Mando and 'Baby Yoda' losing altitude after one weekend.
