Masters of the Universe had low projections when it arrived in theaters this weekend, and even its addition to IMAX theaters didn’t seem to help. The initial projections for the movie were between $25 million and $35 million domestically, with some forecasting that it could do even better after positive word-of-mouth began flying in. That said, it fell hard in its opening Friday numbers, only making $11.7 million. This is even after an early Wednesday night screening and the Thursday night screenings across the country. However, it now looks like it could even fall behind a four-week-old movie in the final weekend projections.
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According to Global Box Office on X, Masters of the Universe might miss out on even the $25 million lower mark, and Deadline reports it could hit as high as $30.1 million, which is still a disappointment. On the other hand, Obsession is still going strong, despite already spending four weeks at the box office.
Is Masters of the Universe Dead at the Box Office?
Right now, Scary Movie is on its way to a franchise record at the box office, with a projected $56 million take. Masters of the Universe, according to Deadline, could reach $30.1 million, while the special screenings of Amazing Digital Circus are looking at a $22 million weekend. Meanwhile, both Backrooms and Obsession are still bringing in a lot of eyes for the horror movies this year. This means that, while Masters of the Universe seems to have bombed at the box office, the competition was fierce, possibly even more than studios might have expected.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Masters of the Universe is dead in the water. There is a really good chance that it will struggle to make back its $170-$200 million budget thanks to the poor opening weekend, but the movie could have legs as the summer movie season gets underway. The new He-Man movie has a B CinemaScore and a 96% rating from families with kids under 12. There is also the Rotten Tomatoes score, and while the critics’ score is lower at 66%, the audience score is sitting at 87%, with the movie proving to be a lot of fun as a summer action tentpole.
The Amazing Digital Circus is headed online for people to watch, and Scary Movie’s reviews have been dismal, which means, in the end, Masters of the Universe might be contending just with the two older horror movies, Backrooms and Obsession, for the next week. However, the bad news is that Disclosure Day is coming out next weekend and then Toy Story 5 the next weekend, so what Masters of the Universe does this week might be the best chance it has to build its box office before it’s buried for good.
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