Despite an atomic level of hype online in the months leading up to its premiere, Amazon MGM Studios’ Masters of the Universe live-action film crashed hard at the box office on its opening weekend, making a mere $29 million domestically. This happened despite getting largely positive critical and fan reviews. Amazon MGM Studios (and Mattel) poured a ton of money into creating awareness for the film, with huge drone shows, TikToks, and a metric ton of product tie-ins. All of this was topped off by a huge premiere at Hollywood’s Chinese Theater, where a massive Castle Grayskull facade was built for just one night. So, what went wrong with the Travis Knight sci-fi/fantasy film? Why couldn’t it connect, despite the hype? And is this the final nail in the coffin of this 44-year-old franchise? We don’t think it is over yet.
The conventional wisdom going into this was that MOTU, as a brand, was for a very specific audience. And the exit demographics for this weekend show that to be the case, with the largest demographic consisting of men ages 45-54. That’s just not a demographic that rushes out to see movies on opening weekend in big numbers, or at all. Gen X (and even elder Millennials) are content with waiting for streaming, as Gen Z is now the largest moviegoing demographic. And Gen Z has next to no awareness of MOTU as a brand, except perhaps as memes online. Those going this weekend under 18? A meager 11%. And they have movies out right now made by them and for them, like Obsession and Backrooms. They’re not flocking to grandpa’s IP. MOTU becoming a box office hit was always an uphill battle.
That’s not to say all “old IPs” are all just for old people. Batman was a fifty-year-old property when it set box office records in 1989. Marvel heroes had been around for fifty years when the MCU exploded. TMNT recently did well too, and that’s just about as geriatric an IP as He-Man. So what’s the difference? All of those others were brands that never died. Thanks to cartoons, toys, or comics, they stayed in the public consciousness. MOTU lasted from 1982 to 1987, flamed out hard, and all future attempts to come back strong fizzled out. It thrives now as a nostalgia brand for older collectors. So why should younger audiences even care? And without younger crowds, it’s nearly impossible to have a box office hit. The olds usually stay home.
As we stated two years ago, MOTU should have always been a streaming series or movie. Netflix was producing a MOTU film for its service just a few years back. A MOTU movie such as this one would have likely cleaned up in the 2000s, when Gen X was still young enough to be a prime moviegoing audience, and taking their young kids to see things like Transformers. Those same Xers would have eaten MOTU up this year as a streaming movie. The people who want this movie are very happy to stay on their couch, unless the movie is a must-see event. And MOTU just was not that. This is likely why Amazon MGM decided to skip Henry Cavill’s $100 million Voltron from going to theaters.
So what becomes of MOTU next? Should Mattel give up all attempts at making the brand relevant and just keep selling high-end replicas of older toys to its AARP-ready audience? Maybe. But Amazon, which still has the rights, should think outside the box. The movie may not have a promising box office, but the word of mouth on it is good. You’re unlikely to see many bad things said by those who have seen it on social media. There seems to be an overwhelming feeling of “pleasantly surprised.” They should simply read the tea leaves on the non-theatrical future of MOTU, and release the film to Prime Video now. Don’t wait two or three months. Do it in three weeks. Drop it while the film is still in the conversation. And if the streaming numbers are good, then pivot. Let MOTU become a streaming franchise.
There’s some indication that Amazon MGM Studios is already doing this. After the disappointing first weekend, Amazon MGM’s domestic distribution chief Kevin Wilson said: “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, he could just be trying to save face in front of the shareholders. Or, the theatrical release of MOTU was a test run to see if it could work in theaters. But the true success or failure would always depend on its streaming numbers. And movies with theatrical releases tend to draw larger viewership, as they are seen as “real” movies more. This is likely why MOTU ended up getting a theatrical window at all.
Amazon MGM Studios is not like other Hollywood studios. They’re dabbling in theatrical now with some success, like Project Hail Mary. But streaming is still where their bread is buttered. And nothing is keeping MOTU from being a streaming franchise. None of its stars are so big and famous that they can’t appear in a streaming project. (Most come from TV.)
Only Jared Leto might see himself as too famous for a streaming franchise. (He’s not, but he probably thinks he is.) And any other decent actor can play Skeletor, and few would know the difference. Amazon should make the most of its investment and simply switch gears. Treat the theatrical release as an extended reintroduction to the brand, take the box office bruises, and reimagine things for streaming. Because we’d sure like to see that She-Ra tease pay off somewhere, even if it’s not on the big screen.