I’m Worried Masters of the Universe Is Repeating This $208M Fantasy Franchise Reboot Bomb

The news that Masters of the Universe isn’t projected to fare all that well at the box office this weekend seemingly proves that the franchise is destined to repeat the fate of another ‘80s fantasy franchise reboot, and I’m worried this will become an unfortunate trend. 2026’s Masters of the Universe reboot faces a tough battle at the box office, since the ‘80s fantasy franchise reboot arrives at a time when indie horror has seemingly decimated the competition left, right, and center.

Not only is Obsession continuing to completely outperform all expectations, but Backrooms has now fared just as well in its opening weekend, with a staggering $81 million take in the US alone. Within this context, it seems worryingly likely that Masters of the Universe will suffer the same fate as 2023’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Both are reinventions of iconic fantasy properties that were super popular in the 1980s, and both aimed to reboot these properties with tongue firmly in cheek and a winking touch of meta humor.

Masters of the Universe’s Disappointing Box Office Projections Call To Mind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Sadly, the box office struggles of The Mandalorian & Grogu may be an ominous omen for Masters of the Universe. According to Variety, the fantasy blockbuster is aiming for a $30-35 million opening weekend with strong word of mouth. However, since the movie’s reviews are good but not spectacular, this reliance on word of mouth might be an issue, especially when Obsession and Backrooms have both become breakout hits thanks to their viral popularity among viewers.

Read Next

Masters of the Universe Cast React to Their Toy Reveals

Coming from Bumblebee director Travis Knight, Masters of the Universe stars The Idea of You’s Nicholas Galitzine as its titular hero. While Idris Elba, Jared Leto, and Riverdale’s Camila Mendes ensure the movie isn’t short of star power, this didn’t help Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves when that star-studded reboot arrived in 2023. Notably, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves earned largely positive reviews and topped the box office on its opening week with a $37 million debut.

However, its lifetime gross of $208 million still wasn’t enough to justify the movie’s $150 price tag, making a sequel vanishingly unlikely. Since Masters of the Universe cost somewhere north of $170 million, it is already clear that the movie must make more than Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to recoup its costs. Should the reboot fail in this endeavour, it is likely to solidify an increasingly obvious financial reality for reboots of classic ‘80s franchises.

Masters of the Universe’s Underperformance Would Solidify An Unfortunate Box Office Reality

It has now been almost a decade since the unexpected popularity of Netflix’s Stranger Things gave rise to a slew of nostalgic reboots of classic ‘80s media franchises. While some of these fared well at the box office, such as 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick and 2024’s Tim Burton comeback Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that these two movies were direct legacy sequels to existing live-action ’80s blockbuster movies.

In contrast, if Masters of the Universe repeats the box office disappointment of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, this will likely prove that live-action adaptations of ‘80s fantasy franchises aren’t compelling enough for modern audiences to justify high budgets. Although this might be unfortunate for fans of these franchises, Masters of the Universe may still prove doubters wrong with a strong box office showing.