YIKES

Major Movie Bombs in Second Week at the Box Office With Huge Drop

The Amazon MGM adaptation dropped by 70 percent in its second week.

Masters of the Universe, Amazon MGM’s entry into the growing Mattel Cinematic Universe that exploded with 2023’s Barbie, has failed to take off, suffering a massive drop in its second week. The film, based on Mattel’s He-Man and starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, has earned just $45.7 million in North America and $84 million worldwide, with $8.6 million of that coming in its second week from 3677 locations across North America. Considering its production budget of almost $200 million, the film is shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest box office bombs. The film is the second attempt to bring the Masters of the Universe franchise to the silver screen, following 1987’s effort starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella. The failure of the 2026 adaptation comes despite the film boasting a star-studded cast including Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto, and Idris Elba. The film has a rating of 68 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score is more favorable at 87 percent. The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager described the film as a “faithful and boisterous old-school spectacular,” adding, “as an exercise in pure, undiluted throwback exuberance, [director Travis] Knight’s film has the power.”