He-Man struggled to find an audience in theaters, as Masters of the Universe pulled in a disappointing $54 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
It seems to be a swing and a miss for director Travis Knight’s live-action take on the classic ’80s property, which brought in an estimated weekend total of $54.308 million worldwide after its Friday, June 5 premiere. That plops the Nicholas Galitzine-led epic in second place, far behind Scary Movie’s $105.5 million debut.
The split saw Masters of the Universe attract $29.3 million domestically and $25 million internationally. Variety reported that its budget sits at nearly $200 million without marketing costs, marking a lot of ground to cover before the Amazon MGM and Sony picture can even begin to think about breaking even.
Masters of the Universe stars Galitzine as Adam/He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba as Duncan, and Jared Leto as Skeletor. Meanwhile, both audiences and critics found at least something to like about the film, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes showing 67% favorability among critics while its audience score returned a solid 88%.
With those who have turned out to see the movie largely enjoying it, it seems He-Man simply failed to reach a younger demographic. Variety reported that its first weekend crowds were 66% male and 40% were older than 45. Still, Amazon MGM domestic distribution chief Kevin Wilson told the site that he’s staying optimistic.
“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.”
Masters of the Universe also just barely managed to pass Backrooms and Obsession, with the former raking in $50.1 million in its second weekend, while the latter increased another $43.3 million in its fourth. Only time will tell if the He-Man movie will manage to have the legs the two low-budget horror movies have had, but for now, it’s not looking good.
Warning! Spoilers for Masters of the Universe follow.
It’s especially disappointing considering the new movie comes with a few end-credits scenes. One almost certainly serves as a loose thread for a potential sequel, teasing an appearance from She-Ra, while another suggests Skeletor and Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie) could return for a future installment, too. With low numbers to kick off Masters of the Universe’s not-so-grand box office entrance, it’s unclear when or if any future projects in its universe will get the green light.
IGN called the live-action Masters of the Universe movie “great” in our 8/10 review. We said it “makes the smart choice to play up the dumb parts of He-Man and not take anything seriously.”
“It’s part Flash Gordon, part Deadpool, and almost officially a parody of itself,” our review added. “These are all good things, by the way.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
