Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters. Despite the movie’s lukewarm box office response, a sequel to the movie still makes sense.
The new He-Man movie is directed by Travis Knight and stars Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Idris Elba, Jared Leto, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kristen Wiig, and Jared Leto. After premiering over the weekend, the Masters of the Universe movie stumbled a bit at the box office. The movie debuted at #2 behind Scary Movie this week, but earned only $54 million globally, a low number for the film that cost nearly $200 million to make. Despite that, hopes for a sequel should remain high.
Masters of the Universe 2 still makes a ton of sense
For starters, although the movie didn’t jump out to an incredibly high box office result, it had a solid enough debut. The movie has already earned over $50 million and is developing great word of mouth, which could lead to more people seeing it in its coming second weekend. Of course, the movie will have new competition to deal with, but even if it doesn’t make back its budget, Amazon may view the film as a success for a different reasons.
Amazon MGM Studios has notoriously looked at projects differently than traditional movie studios in the past. The company, which banks a lot of its success on streaming, is likely seeing Masters of the Universe as a potential future hit on Prime Video. And on Rotten Tomatoes, Masters of the Universe has been an audience darling, with 88% of audiences liking the movie so far.
In a statement on the film’s weekend, Amazon MGM’s domestic distribution chief Kevin Wilson said in a statement that the movie has been extremely well received. He also hinted that Amazon’s metrics for success go well beyond just box office numbers.
“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,” Wilson. “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.”
Given the fact that Amazon could be looking for even more franchises to continue building out, this one seems like a no-brainer. Despite not earning a ton at the box office, Masters of the Universe seems destined to be a hit when it lands on streaming and could become Amazon’s next big franchise if things are played right.
Originally reported by Anthony Nash for ComingSoon.
