Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures announced that MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE will debut on Prime Video today.
Inspired by the 1980s He-Man comic book character, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE follows Prince Adam as the Sword of Power leads him home to Eternia after being separated for 15 years.
Once there, “he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto). To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe,” an official synopsis reads.
Directed by Travis Knight, the movie stars Nicholas Galitzine (He-Man), Camila Mendes (Teela), Idris Elba (Man-at-Arm) and Jared Leto (Skeletor), along with Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Charlotte Riley, Kristen Wiig, Morena Baccarin, Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, Eire Farrell, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Sasheer Zamata.
Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures hope that an early streaming release will salvage the movie’s total revenue gained.
According to The Numbers, the total production budget was about $170 to $200 million. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE only garnered $113.6 million at the worldwide box office.
Related: The Biblical Message at the Heart of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
While the movie struggled for various reasons, competition especially strained its box office potential. SCARY MOVIE, which exceeded expectations with over $100 million, debuted that same weekend in early June. A24’s BACKROOMS debuted as well as, and several other blockbuster hits that were still in theaters.
Its production journey bumped up costs too. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE began at Netflix then moved on to Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures before Amazon MGM ultimately picked it up for one last chance. The budget soared to $200 million and would need at least $400 million to break even.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE suffered a steep ~70% drop off its second weekend in theaters, further limiting its ability to make up the costs.
Movieguide®, however, praised its pro-family elements.
“MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is an exhilarating, amusing popcorn movie with strong uplifting moral, redemptive, pro-family content,” the review reads. “Also, Prince Adam is an admirable hero who offers the villains a chance to lay down their arms and establish peace.”
Movieguide® does advise caution, though, because “MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE has some magical thinking and lots of strong action violence. It’s also marred by some light obscenities, a strong profanity and a few lewd, gratuitous innuendoes meriting extreme caution.” Those problems warranted a -2 content score.
While MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE fell short of its massive $400 million break-even threshold in theaters, an expedited home release allows Amazon MGM Studios to capitalize on remaining momentum, reduce further theatrical decline and offer a high-profile blockbuster directly to its subscribers worldwide.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is available to stream on Prime Video today, July 22.
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