The Best New Sci-Fi Franchise Is Already Dead On Arrival

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

When I went to see Masters of the Universe, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. I was a huge fan of the original He-Man cartoon as a kid, and I remember being disappointed by all the ways that the 1987 live-action movie with Dolph Lundgren changed what I loved about the show. While I’ve since grown to appreciate the earlier film, the fact remains that it was such a critical and commercial bomb that we didn’t get a new one for nearly four decades. Plus, the new movie had problematic king and certified franchise killer Jared Leto playing the iconic Skeletor, so I mentally braced myself for the worst.

To my surprise, though, the new Masters of the Universe was fantastic. From the character designs to the action and quirky humor, this film brought my favorite childhood cartoon to life. I’m not alone in my love for He-Man’s latest adventure: certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 87 percent audience score, this movie is clearly a crowd-pleaser. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it had the power to please enough people, as it is projected to earn a little over $30 million in its opening weekend. Factor in the high budget and the costs of marketing, and Masters of the Universe may not make enough money to justify a sequel.

He-Man Can’t Get A Grip

On paper, Masters of the Universe’s opening weekend was relatively solid. It’s going to earn over $30 million, which indicates just how eager audiences were to revisit this high-flying, sword-slashing sci-fi franchise. However, He-Man faced some stiff box office competition, and not from the films you’d expect. Going into the summer, many assumed that The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars film in seven years, would dominate the box office. But it continues to lose ground against boot-strap, low-budget horror movies like Obsession and Backrooms. Speaking of horror, the newly premiered Scary Movie is on track to be the number one movie this weekend. 

If not for this surprisingly strong competition, Masters of the Universe might have earned even more. Why, though, is $30 million in its opening weekend not good enough? Part of the answer is the budget. It cost $170 million to bring this new He-Man film to life, and that doesn’t count the costs for marketing, which is always more expensive than you might think. Accordingly, big-budget sci-fi blockbusters often need a major opening weekend to make a profit because they earn less and less at the box office with every subsequent weekend. Superman (2025) made $125 million in its opening weekend, but between marketing costs and splitting profits with theaters, it may have actually lost money.

Bone, Thugs, And Disharmony

Masters of the Universe cost less to make and presumably less to market than Superman, but it’s also earning 76 percent less money in its opening weekend. The film will hopefully benefit from solid word of mouth, but you can bet every weight bench in Eternia that it’s going to make less than $30 million each week from here on out. Possibly a lot less: The Mandalorian & Grogu, for example, dropped about 70 percent in its second weekend. If Star Wars can falter like that, then it’s entirely possible that this fan-favorite He-Man movie could suffer an even worse fate.

That’s a shame because Masters of the Universe is a genuinely great film. It’s got all the ingredients (including faithful character designs, deep lore, and Easter eggs galore) to make franchise fans happy. It’s also got everything it needs (including great humor, fun performances, and epic action sequences) to win over general audiences. As a sci-fi movie that breaks free of the Marvel (and Marvel wannabe) mold, Masters of the Universe is everything most moviegoers claim they want out of a summer blockbuster. Should this new film franchise prove to be dead on arrival, it will make movie studios even more averse to taking big, creative swings.

It Could Still Have The Power

Now, more than ever, I’m really hoping to be proven wrong. Maybe Masters of the Universe will follow in the footsteps of Obsession and earn more in its second weekend. Or maybe all of the positive word of mouth will keep its box office from plummeting as fast as The Mandalorian & Grogu. Ultimately, I’m just hoping more people give this movie a chance. It’s genuinely the most thrilling film I’ve seen this year, and one that gets the action/adventure formula better than Marvel has since Avengers: Endgame. Want to see some fun, funny, and genuinely freaky sci-fi on the big screen?

Then go watch it today, and by the power of Grayskull, be sure to tell your friends how awesome it was!