Critically Acclaimed Box Office Bomb May Still Get A Sequel

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 18 seconds ago

So far, this has been a summer filled with some real box office surprises. For one thing, The Mandalorian and Grogu seriously underperformed, despite being the first Star Wars film in six years. Meanwhile, the horror films Obsession and Backrooms made a killing, each of them coming from young filmmakers working with very low budgets. For me, the biggest surprise was also the most disappointing one: Masters of the Universe, despite receiving critical acclaim, struggled to find an audience. Now, there’s not a snowball’s chance in Snake Mountain that it will so much as break even, much less make any actual profit.

Normally, that would mean no follow-up films, which is too bad. The stingers for this movie introduced other fan-favorite He-Man characters like Orko and, most enticingly, She-Ra. However, we may yet see the most powerful man in the universe on the big screen again. That’s because this film was made by Amazon MGM Studios, and their primary goal isn’t theatrical sales; it’s Prime Video subscriptions. Based on a recent statement from domestic distribution guru Kevin Wilson, Masters of the Universe did well enough to warrant a sequel, which, like the first film, will keep people watching Prime Video.

A Box Office Disappointment

Right now, the numbers for Masters of the Universe look pretty bleak. It cost $170 million to make and, as of this writing, has only earned $92.1 million. That means this new He-Man movie isn’t going to make anywhere close to its production budget. Throw in factors like the high cost of marketing, and it’s clear that this movie isn’t going to bring in any real profit. For movie studios that rely entirely on theatrical sales, that would be the end of the story: if a movie bombs, they’re not going to shell out another $170 million just to roll those dice again.

However, Amazon MGM has a different goal. Basically, they want to make as much money as they can in theaters before bringing their original productions to Prime Video, where they serve as the most enticing streaming carrot of them all: exclusive content. How does this translate to Masters of the Universe getting a sequel? According to the studio’s domestic distribution chief Kevin Wilson, the film’s debut “represents a very solid start” that garnered a “passionate, multigenerational audience response…around the world.” He declared, “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.”

He-Man Still Has The Power

What does that mean, exactly? Basically, Amazon MGM does not evaluate its movies on a pass/fail system where box office revenue is everything. They have a “holistic distribution strategy” that involves making as much as possible at the theater and then making the movie a staple of Prime Video. While Masters of the Universe may not have generated any real profit, it did generate tons of good buzz and positive word-of-mouth that will help it make a killing on streaming. This happened with Red One, a box office flop that went on to get 50 million views in its first week, making it the best debut in Prime Video history.

Amazon is hoping that Masters of the Universe will be a similar success story, one that helps it corner the streaming market with a hit sci-fi/fantasy movie. Should that happen, the studio is likely to greenlight a sequel. Considering that the sequel will introduce She-Ra and that Amazon is actively working on a She-Ra television series, it’s a safe bet the show will be a spinoff of the sequel. All of this modern marketing mojo can make your head spin like Triklops, but it adds up to some good news: despite poor box office, Masters of the Universe may still “have the power” to get a sequel!