Masters of the Universe Is Ending Its Global Run With Less Than $115M — And a Loss Approaching $150M for Amazon MGM

He-Man's big-screen comeback is closing out with a number nobody at Amazon MGM wanted to see.

Masters of the Universe is wrapping its worldwide theatrical run next weekend having earned less than $115 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. On a reported production budget of $170 million to $200 million, that's projected to leave Amazon MGM Studios facing a loss somewhere between $140 million and $150 million once theatrical rentals are factored in.

Where Did the Money Actually Go Wrong?

The math is straightforward and brutal. Theaters typically keep about half of what a film grosses, meaning Amazon MGM's actual take from a $115 million worldwide run lands closer to $55-57 million. Against a production cost alone in the $170-200 million range, that's already a shortfall before a single dollar of marketing gets factored in, and estimates for the film's promotional campaign — which included a Guinness World Record-setting drone light show over Los Angeles — reportedly ran into the tens of millions more.

The opening weekend told the story early. Masters of the Universe debuted to $29.4 million domestically and $54.3 million worldwide, finishing behind Scary Movie on the same weekend. Amazon MGM's domestic distribution chief called the launch "truly special," but the second weekend made that framing hard to sustain: a 70%-plus collapse to under $9 million, a fall to fifth place, and a trajectory that never recovered against a stacked summer slate that went on to include Obsession, Backrooms, Toy Story 5, and Disclosure Day.

Does This Kill the Franchise Before It Starts?

Despite the numbers, Amazon MGM has continued moving forward. Reports indicate a sequel is already in development, with the film's post-credits reveal of She-Ra setting up a broader Eternia universe. The studio's rationale leans on its "holistic distribution strategy" — the idea that a film's value doesn't end at the box office when it's headed for Prime Video, where it can drive subscriber engagement even after a weak theatrical run.

Critics were largely on board, with the film settling around a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a strong 88% audience score, alongside a "B" CinemaScore. That combination usually signals decent word of mouth rather than total audience rejection — the problem here wasn't that people who saw it disliked it, it's that not enough people who might have liked it showed up in the first place.

It leaves Masters of the Universe in company with other high-profile theatrical misfires that had nothing to do with quality and everything to do with the gap between what a franchise costs to launch and what audiences were actually willing to pay to see it launched. Whether streaming numbers can eventually make the case that the investment was worth it is a story that plays out well outside the box office charts Amazon would rather not talk about right now.