Three days out from its June 5 opening, Masters of the Universe is still tracking soft. GamesRadar+, citing Global Box Office figures, reports the Travis Knight film is on course for a $27 to $35 million domestic debut, a number trade writers describe as flop range against a production budget Forbes puts at a minimum of $170 million. World of Reel, which lists the budget at $200 million, has the opening lower still at $25 to $30 million.
The weak presales are the headline because they arrive after the review embargo lifted on June 2. The film is holding a 74 to 75 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a 51 on Metacritic, and early reactions out of the May screenings compared it to Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy. Strong word so far has not translated into ticket buys ahead of the weekend.
The competition is part of the math. Trade tracking has Scary Movie 6 nearing $50 million, with the original horror titles Backrooms and Obsession both eyeing $27 million or more, a slate that could push Masters of the Universe to a fourth-place finish on its opening weekend. Commentators have also flagged an audience-identity question, noting that most of the measured interest is coming from older fans who grew up with the toyline and cartoon rather than the family crowd a film this size typically needs.
For context, the only prior live-action He-Man movie, the 1987 Cannon feature starring Dolph Lundgren, grossed about $17.3 million against a roughly $22 million budget and did not recoup its cost. The new film carries far higher stakes for Mattel, whose Barbie crossed $1.4 billion globally in 2023 and which has Matchbox, Barney and Polly Pocket adaptations in development. As several outlets note, box office has been hard to call lately, with Backrooms and Obsession outperforming expectations the prior weekend, so the Friday actuals remain the real test.
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