No Miracle Happened: "Masters of the Universe" Reboot Kicks Off Global Box Office with $54 Million

News 0
09 Jun 11:36

The reboot of "Masters of the Universe" failed to live up to its summer blockbuster status, opening in the American box office with a modest $29.3 million in its first weekend. The weak result was not a surprise for the industry: analysts in May had already predicted around $25 million for Travis Knight's film at its opening and noted the weak interest of the mass audience in He-Man's return.

Including international earnings of $25 million, the film's worldwide gross for the first weekend totaled $54.3 million. For a project with a budget of $200 million and Mattel's ambitions to build a new cinematic universe, this is a very troubling start.

Amazon MGM Studios / Mattel

One of the reasons for the weak start, experts say, is competition from low-budget hits from YouTube creators. Kane Parsons' feature film "The Backrooms" and Curry Barker's psychological thriller "Obsession" have drawn significant audience interest and word-of-mouth in recent weeks. An additional blow was the successful launch of the parody horror film "Scary Movie 6," which grossed $56 million in the US and a total of $107 million worldwide.

Surprisingly, MGM management is trying to put a brave face on a bad situation. Kevin Wilson, head of the studio's domestic theatrical distribution, called the result a "solid start" and emphasized that the company is banking on long-term distribution, and the enthusiastic fan reaction should help the film maintain its momentum. In reality, experts agree that only a digital release on the Prime Video streaming service can save the project from huge losses now.

Read more on the topic: