The box office crash can sink Masters of the Universe 2

If you had your money on a new ‘Masters of the Universe’ franchise kicking off at cinemas, you might want to sit down—because the numbers have come in and, well, it’s looking a bit grim.

The He-Man Relaunch—Big Cast, Big Budget, Shaky Returns

First up, here’s the rundown: Amazon MGM Studios rolled out their ambitious, nostalgia-powered ‘He-Man’ blockbuster with Travis Knight in the director's chair. The cast is frankly ridiculous—Nicholas Galitzine is leading, with Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Idris Elba, Jared Leto (yes, twice), Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, and Kristen Wiig all along for the ride. If you got whiplash reading that list, join the club.

Box Office—Not the Epic Opening They’d Hoped For

So here’s where things get awkward: the film launched last weekend, nabbing $54 million worldwide across its opening. Not terrible, but when the production cost is up to $200 million, that’s not even scratching the surface. This weekend? It tumbled to fifth place in the box office charts with a worldwide total at the moment sitting at just $84 million. Not exactly the muscle-bound performance you’d want from a bloke called He-Man.

Studio Spin: 'Very Solid Start'

There’s always a bit of PR gymnastics in these situations. Case in point: Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM’s domestic distribution boss, suggested the real story might be somewhere in the data beyond ticket sales, and he was keen to highlight the fan excitement:

'This weekend represents a very solid start for "Masters of the Universe" and the passionate, multigenerational audience response we’re seeing around the world has been fantastic. 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.'

Now, whether you buy the idea of a 'holistic distribution strategy' or not, it’s fair to say this strategy will need to be pretty miraculous. Because a strong start is, so far, the only good news. Week two has come with a thud, not a bang.

What’s Actually Gone Wrong?

• A lukewarm box office: Started okay, but fell quickly from grace.
• Steep budget: $200 million is a lot to make back when you’re lagging against the competition, and right now, they haven’t hit halfway.
• Crowded release window: New big hitters like Toy Story 5 are about to stomp into cinemas, shrinking He-Man’s already dwindling audience further.
• It’s actually a good film? Here’s the weird bit: Rotten Tomatoes has the critics giving it a solid (if not world-beating) 68%, and the audience rating is up at 87%, which is nearly unheard of for this kind of franchise reboot. So, people like it. They’re just not buying tickets.

Will We See a Sequel?

Under normal circumstances, having loads of viewers saying 'this is actually good' would be enough to guarantee another film, but studios do need to count the receipts. With costs up, and the buzz rapidly shrivelling, it’s hard to see a straight path to ‘Masters of the Universe 2’ without some seriously creative accounting.

That said, Amazon is hungry for big worlds, big IP, and anything that can be spun off six ways from Sunday. So it’s not totally off the table that they’ll roll the dice again, but the current numbers aren’t making that prospect any easier. Last week, a sequel seemed a safe bet. This week? Not so much.