Masters of the Universe Box Office Explained: Why It Bombed & What It Means for a Sequel

Masters of the Universe hasn’t exactly had a strong opening in the box office. The film opened against Scary Movie, and in theory the two shouldn’t have competed; they’re aimed at very different demographics. In reality, Scary Movie outperformed Masters of the Universe; Travis Knight’s fantasy epic brought in just $29.3 million domestically, and $54.3 million worldwide. That’s against a $170-200 million budget, pretty much guaranteeing this film will make a loss in the box office.

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It’s certainly a disappointing start, perhaps signifying there is a limit for ’80s nostalgia. At the same time, though, comments from Amazon have suggested even this box office bomb is no “kiss of death” for the franchise. For all the focus on box office revenue, there’s a lot more to the modern film industry, and this could still signal a new dawn for the franchise as a whole.

Why Masters of the Universe is Struggling in the Box Office

’80s nostalgia is all the rage, and major franchises from that decade have proved to have remarkable staying power. The problem, though, is that Masters of the Universe hasn’t really had the consistent cultural footprint of some of its competitors. Transformers, for example, has constantly reinvented itself for a new generation; that means every age group has fond memories of Autobots and Decepticons, something each remake can build upon. In contrast, there have been too many gaps between He-Man shows. New releases haven’t always been loved, with Kevin Smith wounded by the backlash to his Masters of the Universe.

Travis Knight’s creative team seemed to understand this. Speaking to them on a set visit last year, I was struck by the fact they didn’t even seem familiar with some modern iterations; Teela’s Sorceress connection was discussed as deep lore, rather than the driving plot of Smith’s show. Rather, their Masters of the Universe honed in on the classic Filmation animation. This inevitably narrowed audiences down to a smaller demographic of viewers who grew up watching He-Man in the ’80s.

Masters of the Universe was always going to depend on word-of-mouth, which has been good but not great (the film has a B on CinemaScore, and a 66% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes). It’s releasing against strong competition, during the buildup to another cost of living crisis where people are having to check their spending. May has yet to return to the incredible heights of the Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame era, so it’s possible viewing habits have changed a little – although there are positive signs, with domestic box office breaking $1 billion this year, for the first time since 2019.

Speaking to Variety, box office analyst David A. Gross put Masters of the Universe‘s performance in an even wider context. “Right now, the only fantasy heroes doing strong business are the biggest and most established superheroes, like Spider-Man, Deadpool, Wolverine, and Superman,” he noted. The superhero boom has come to an end, and it seems to have affected other franchises too.

Does Masters of the Universe’s Box Office Really Matter?

It’s possible Masters of the Universe will have unusually long legs in the box office; the film is aimed at a demographic who don’t tend to rush out for the opening weekend. That said, Amazon MGM’s domestic distribution chief, Kevin Wilson, issued a statement insisting Masters of the Universe isn’t quite as dependent on theatrical performance as some of its competitors.

“[Director] Travis Knight and the entire cast and filmmaking team have delivered something truly special,” he said, “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.” A new Masters of the Universe animated reboot launches on June 10, and there will be a steady stream of new games throughout the year. For Amazon, the film is best seen as part of a major investment in Masters of the Universe, an attempt to build that neglected cultural footprint.

This makes it particularly hard to assess whether Masters of the Universe should be seen as a success. As disappointing as this box office may be, the film will also benefit from substantial merchandise sales and even rental distribution. Its impact on the broader franchise is likely to be more positive, part of a major attempt to reestablish He-Man and the heroes of Eternia. Even that sequel can’t be ruled out, although it remains to be seen whether Amazon would choose to bring He-Man and She-Ra back to the big screen, or whether Masters of the Universe‘s relaunch will embrace transmedia.

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