The new He-Man movie Masters of the Universe is off to a rough start at the box office, which means it may not take the original path to streaming that most Amazon MGM Studios releases do and may have to pivot the way Project Hail Mary debuted on home video.
An Amazon MGM Studios production, Masters of the Universe marks the second live-action feature film iteration of the sword and sorcery tale following the 1987 film of the same name starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the evil wizard Skeletor. Nicholas Galitzine stars as Prince Adam/He-Man in the new version, while Jared Leto plays Skeletor.
Directed by Travis Knight, Masters of the Universe also stars Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms Duncan, Camila Mendes as Teela, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn and Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress.
The projected opening weekend box office take of Masters of the Universe is coming in at the low end of most Hollywood trade publications’ box office forecasts at $30.1 million and a second-place finish, domestically, behind the Wayans Bros. horror spoof Scary Movie.
The opening tally of Masters of the Universe is a soft one, considering that, per Variety, the film had a $200 million production budget before marketing expenses.
Because of that massive budget, Amazon MGM may end up diverting from the studio’s normal streaming release strategy when Masters of the Universe is released in the home entertainment marketplace.
Many, But Not All Of Amazon MGM Films Debut On Prime Video’s SVOD Platform
Most studio films, whether they are produced by Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures or Universal Pictures, make their first stop in the home entertainment space on digital streaming via premium video on demand. Through a variety of digital platforms, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube Movies & TV, consumers can either outright purchase a digital copy of the film or rent it for 48 hours.
However, Amazon MGM Studios has largely taken a different approach with its films released in theaters, as they generally are first released on streaming video on demand on its Prime Video platform. The Prime Video platform, of course, is one of the components consumers get with an Amazon membership and is also available for a monthly subscription fee for viewers who aren’t Amazon members.
Generally, it takes Amazon MGM Studios releases anywhere from 41 to 47 days after they premiere in theaters to premiere on Prime Video. For example, Ben Affleck’s The Accountant 2 opened in theaters on April 25, 2025, and arrived on Prime Video 41 days later on June 5, 2025. More recently, Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry’s Amazon MGM release Crime 101, which opened in theaters on Feb. 13, debuted on Prime Video 47 days later, on April 1.
The production budget for The Accountant 2 was $80 million, while Crime 101 cost $90 million to produce. So, while the films both underperformed — The Accountant 2 earned $103.3 million at the worldwide box office while Crime 101 took in $72 million globally — they had significantly less to recoup than what Masters of the Universe is facing with a $200 million price tag (not including marketing costs).
While time will only tell where Masters of the Universe ends up at the box office, the film’s soft opening suggests that it will have an uphill battle in the coming weeks with such big releases as Disclosure Day, Toy Story 5 and Supergirl waiting in the wings. As such, Amazon MGM has a big decision to make — to either release the film directly on Prime Video or go the PVOD route as it did recently with the blockbuster hit Project Hail Mary.
Why The ‘Project Hail Mary’ PVOD Streaming Route Makes More Sense For ‘Masters Of The Universe’
Project Hail Mary was a big hit for Amazon MGM Studios, considering how much the film had on the line with the film’s production budget of $200 million before marketing expenses (via Puck News). Luckily for Amazon MGM, Project Hail Mary was so well-received by moviegoers that the studio delayed the film’s streaming release in favor of a longer theatrical run.
By the time the film arrived on streaming, Project Hail Mary had earned $655.7 million at the worldwide box office. As it nears the end of its theatrical run (the film is currently only playing in 777 venues domestically), its global theatrical tally is approaching $680 million.
So, if the standard 50-50 split between the studios and theater owners applies to Project Hail Mary’s gross, Amazon MGM will made somewhere in the neighborhood of $340 million in worldwide ticket sales. Subtracting the $200 million that it cost to make the film reduces the profit to $140 million before the film’s marketing costs, residuals and other miscellaneous expenses are taken out of it.
In hindsight, it makes sense for Amazon MGM Studios to make the film available on PVOD first before streaming it for “free” for Prime Video subscribers. With the move, the studio opened what is undoubtedly a lucrative revenue stream by selling digital copies of the film for $24.99 and renting it for $19.99. So, by going with the pay option first, releasing Project Hail Mary on PVOD was clearly the right business decision even if the film had already reached profitability.
So, unless Amazon MGM thinks subscribership will spike on Amazon or Prime Video to watch Masters of the Universe, the film’s debut on PVOD instead of making it a “free” offering on its subscription service first is the right move.
With a $200 million budget before marketing, Masters of the Universe already has a lot of financial ground to make up after its weaker-than-anticipated opening. The shame of it all is that critics and audience members posting their scores on Rotten Tomatoes have a favorable view of the film.
If there are any hopes for a Masters of the Universe sequel — and the film’s end credits scenes make it pretty clear that’s where the filmmakers want the franchise to go — then some added PVOD revenue will go a long way toward reaching that goal.
As to when Masters of the Universe will arrive on PVOD — should Amazon MGM choose that route — is a question that will likely be dictated by how the film performs in theaters in the coming weeks.
It took Project Hail Mary 52 days to arrive on digital streaming, but that’s because Amazon MGM made a point to extend its theatrical-to-streaming window. If the studio follows its 41 to 47-day release pattern reserved for its theatrical-to-SVOD on Prime Video window, viewers can expect Masters of the Universe to stay in theaters for 45 days and debut on PVOD or around July 21, since new digital streaming releases typically arrive on Tuesdays.
Rated PG-13, Masters of the Universe is playing in theaters.
