MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE underperformed.
But the franchise may not be dead.
The movie opened around $29M domestic, came in #2 for the weekend, and held its ground against BACKROOMS and OBSESSION, two movies clearly built for younger audiences that actually show up right now.
For a reported $170M tentpole, that is not a win.
But it is also not nothing.
The demographic breakdown tells the real story.
The audience was reportedly 68% male, 57% over 35, and heavily driven by the 45-54 crowd. Basically, dads and the kids who grew up with HE-MAN in the 80s.
Kids under 12 were only around 4-5% of the audience.
That is the problem.
But the kids who did show up reportedly loved it, with very strong PostTrak scores among that group. Dads also showed up harder than moms.
That is the opportunity.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE did not fail because nobody cares.
It struggled because Amazon MGM did not get enough of the right people in the room opening weekend.
But now they know who actually came.
Dads. Boys. Nostalgia fans. Families willing to take the shot.
That is not a dead franchise. Not by a freaking long shot.
The theatrical run may not save the budget, but Prime Video absolutely could build the audience this movie needed from the start.
If Amazon looks at the data instead of the dunking, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE still has a future.
Let the dads cook.
Masters of the Universe was UNBELIEVABLE
Don’t pay attention to the numbers their first weekend
This is a movie that brings back all the nostalgia for fans like me
But the story it tells and how it’s framed is PERFECT for anyone watching that’s never heard of the franchise
@Dehemsleyy You're just hoping now, he wants to.leave, but you all put this man on a pedestal that now,you all make believe that he is the irreplaceable, news flash, he is.