Masters of the Universe has locked down IMAX screens for its June 5 theatrical release, pushing The Mandalorian and Grogu out of the large-format auditoriums after only two weeks. The move, confirmed by IMAX via Instagram, adds premium showings on top of the film’s existing regular and Dolby bookings and signals studio confidence heading into opening weekend.
The He-Man reboot also secured early-access screenings on Wednesday, June 3 at select theaters, including Dolby screens at AMC locations. Between the IMAX pickup, the Dolby availability and the Wednesday sneak peek, Amazon MGM Studios is stacking every format available to maximize opening-weekend revenue for a film that carries a reported $170M-plus production budget.
Projections have been climbing. Initial tracking pegged the domestic debut at $25M, then rose to $35M after positive first reactions from the May 18 premiere. Industry watchers now suggest the number could push higher still once the review embargo lifts on June 2 at 6 AM PT - assuming critics echo the enthusiastic first-wave takes that called the film “gloriously campy, wildly entertaining, and nonstop fun.”
The complication is competition. Scary Movie opens the same day and is tracking for a $35-52M debut, buoyed by the return of the Wayans brothers, Anna Faris and Regina Hall, and strong awareness among younger audiences. SlashFilm’s box office preview frames the matchup as a generational split: Scary Movie rides millennial nostalgia for early-2000s spoofs, while MOTU targets Gen-X and older millennials who grew up with the 1983 Filmation series and the original toy line.
Amazon MGM does not need the film to turn a profit purely in theaters - Prime Video serves as a downstream revenue stream - but a soft opening on a $170M budget would still register as a commercial miss. Overseas performance, where He-Man’s brand recognition runs deep in markets like Brazil and Germany, could be the deciding factor.
Join the discussion