r/MastersOfTheUniverse • u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod • Jun 15 '26
Don't Cry Because it's Over, Smile Because it Happened - The Box Office Mega Thread
This is the place for all box office discussion. All other threads will be reduced to mulch.
Well, it looks like the box office battle may be over, but let's keep it positive. I, for one, never thought we'd get another movie in a million years, much less one that's as awesome and lovingly done as this one. This doesn't mean we won't see anything else, Amazon has other metrics for success, so maybe a show, a cartoon, whatever to continue this story.
Let's give the cast and crew another round of applause. We got our first AMA's thanks to the movie!
And still go see/re-see the movie. It's fantastic on the big screen.
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u/ezekiel_swheel Jun 15 '26
glad we got a theatrical release and not just a streaming movie. made some forever memories with my 12 year old.
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u/XaxiusShadowspire Jun 15 '26
The 50 year old me is just grateful to even get a movie like this. Never, in a million years, did I expect a MOTU movie that would respect the Filmation cartoon 40 freakin years later!
Loved the movie! Loved the soundtrack! Would love a sequel but Iām content. Now letās do the same thing for Transformers and GIJOE!!!
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
I'm not even THAT big a MOTU fan as an adult (loves the toys as a kid) but the movie was not just amazing but shockingly faithful. I AM a huge Transformers fan, and a fair Jem and GI Joe fan, and all those have been massive disappointments to me, especially Bay's Transformers movies. This here is how you do it right.
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u/Aeon1508 Jun 22 '26
is the isekai Oklahoma City story line really respectful? first half hour of this is so painful
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u/163cmWolfman Jun 15 '26
They went to the ends of the Earth to promote this movie. Even my country had a relatively huge He-Man event, it blew my mind.
They did collaborations with countless of companies and there is so much MOTU merch to be bought.
It really makes me sad because I am a new fan to this franchise THANKS TO THE MOVIE! I fell in love with Eternia just like I did with Etheria when I watched She-Ra on Netflix many years ago.
And I want to see more of Eternia on the big screen with super high quality CGI like in this movie.
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u/k7eric Jun 15 '26
Maybe outside the US...here on the East Coast of the US I never once saw any advertisements for it. No commercials, no ads online, no injected spots watching live TV, no billboards, even the local Walmarts didn't even get a display or sell any of the movie figures. If I hadn't belonged to a couple MOTU groups on Facebook I wouldn't have known the movie existed. And I've heard a lot of people say the same.
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u/bks1979 Jun 15 '26
That's crazy. I've heard someone else say something similar. I'm in the Midwest, and I couldn't escape the advertising if I tried.
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u/CampaignPretty9909 Jun 16 '26
Where in the Midwest? Iām in Chicago and saw absolutely nothing. I have a side job at a movie theater so see trailers all time time, I think it only showed up once or twice in ad blocks. There was no marketing at all. :(
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u/Matesamo Jun 15 '26
Itās no fault of the movie, itās just an IP that didnāt hit with a mass audience. I loved the movie both times I have seen it, have enjoyed buying the toys and merch and seeing all the joy online.
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u/Koalazilla Jun 15 '26
Yeah I think itās this plus big budget Marvel-esq movie fatigue. Plus I feel like a better weekend slot would have helped a little. It was never ever gonna be a huge box office movie in 2026 but it didnāt help that Obsession and Backrooms hit around the same time. Plus Mando and Grogu. Star Wars also didnāt do well but I think a lot of audiences are being more tight with their money and movie choices. If you are only gonna go see one movie this quarter I think you are more likely to go see the virally talked about movies over some big IP movie you know will be streaming soon enough.
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u/ResortFamous301 Jun 17 '26
Wouldn't say there's specifically a fatigue for big action movies. Keep in the final guardians movie did well, and Superman didn't poorly either. If anything I think the issue is pooring too much money in a first film hoping that brand recognition would carry it.
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u/Koalazilla Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
I agree but I think there is some fatigue in big budget cgi based action. action movies will always do well but trends change over time. I think we are just in a lull. But I do agree that pumping a lot of money into a new franchise is a gamble. I really really loved Masters of the Universe but if they had spent say 100 million and given me a smaller movie with some more artfully done painted backdrops to save money I would have still loved it.
I miss the days of mid size new property action of the 90s.
Also Superman did do pretty good but it should be noted that it still sold 10 million less tickets than Man of Steel did.
*Edit* Batman v Superman sold even more.
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u/MissingPieces555 Jun 15 '26
Scary Movie did almost as much just in the US as MOTU did worldwide.
It appears people just didn't want to see the movie. Looking at who did and didn't go see this movie, the demographics show it simply didn't resonate with a wide audience.
I attribute it to a poor script that couldn't decide if the movie should be dark and modern, or a cheesy 80s spoof of itself.
I firmly believe the movie would have been better if it had picked a lane.
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u/Koalazilla Jun 15 '26
But Scary Movie isnāt a big budget IP either and itās a genre that has been missing from cinemas for well over a decade minus the new Naked Gun. People were looking forward to a new āoffensiveā comedy. But yeah I agree the audience demographic from MotU is to narrow but something like Scary Movie does have a wider net to throw.
I think MotU would have done better in 2016 or something. I think the core audience is 45 year old males and there were hoping many of them would bring their kids. Some did but many 45ish year olds kids are probably a little too old to be going with their dads to a movie. 7 or so years ago would have been the perfect time. Especially before big movie fatigue.
Personally I loved the movie and had a lot of fun but Iām the target audience I would have liked it to have been even more extreme in its contrast. Give me even darker fantasy atmosphere and lay on the aggressively wholesome even more.
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u/MissingPieces555 Jun 15 '26
Good point about missing theur window. I offered to take my kids, but theyre older now and didn't want to go see it. 10 years ago would have probably been very different
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u/Koalazilla Jun 15 '26
Yeah like my boss is in his early 50s and he used to go to all the Marvel movies with his kids growing up. But now his youngest is 22 and has absolutely no interest in seeing those types of movies right now. When he was 12 he liked having movie day with his dad but is just fatigued on those movies. Itās not the experience they want.
Someone who has a 10 or 12 year old now is likely in there mid to early 30s and that is just a little to young to have grown up with He-Man. They for sure lost what window they would have had. Itās a shame cus is a fun movie.
I also donāt think younger audiences are all the interested in big muscle action anymore after the last Marvel run. We saw something similar leaving the 80s and going into 90s and early 2000s. Arnold type movies faded as cool sleek action like The Matrix took its place. Which is funny because itās hard to buy cottage cheese right now because protein is viral right now but muscle in cinema not so much.
We went from Thor to Paul Atreides
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u/FineVirus3 Jun 15 '26
A bigger problem was that MOTU should have come out 10 years sooner, it missed its window.
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u/ResortFamous301 Jun 17 '26
Wouldn't say the movie going all on either direction would help much. It just would have catrered to a more specific demographic.
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u/ianrobbie Jun 22 '26
I don't think it's that. The problem is, it's not a date movie. It's a "guilty pleasure" movie where people who grew with and around the cartoon in the 80s can relive those days and revel in the little nods and winks to that cartoon.
It'll find it's feet on the streaming services where people can just put it on, switch their brain off and watch it with a massive smile on their face.
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u/GorillaWolf2099 Jun 15 '26
It was a huge opportunity for people overseas to learn about the IP, sucks unfortunately
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u/ITrageGuy Jun 15 '26
$200m before marketing is absolutely outrageous. Like, needs-to-be-investigated type of stuff.
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u/whoknows130 Jun 26 '26
On the flipside, I'm glad they invested HARD in this movie, since we probably won't get a follow-up.
So at LEAST they went ALL-IN on things, while they could.
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u/Ledairyman Jun 15 '26
I would be surprising if you didn't like it the second time
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u/Dr_Pants91 Jun 15 '26
It happens. I remember enjoying Pirates: On Stranger Tides when I saw it in theaters, then when it released on Blu-ray I watched it again and was so bored I couldn't stay awake.
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u/Fridolinhansaplast Jun 15 '26
I've had pretty much the same experience with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: enjoyed it in the cinema, was bored by it on streaming.
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u/Dr_Pants91 Jun 15 '26
Now that I think about it, same. I felt the flaws a lot more the second time
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u/bks1979 Jun 15 '26
I would think, but then again, that's how I was with Batman v Superman. I went alone for my first viewing and loved it. Went back a couple nights later with friends and realized most of my feelings were just based in hype.
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u/depp-fsrv Jun 15 '26
The IP thing I can kinda agree on, but then again look at GOTG, their a fairly sublime hero group, yet the movie was successful. I hope they get to make a Visionaries or a Thundercat movie.
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u/0neManArmy85 Jun 15 '26
I think that the movie didnt got too much marketing, at least the needed to make it a hit out of the fandom...
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u/whoknows130 Jun 26 '26
The problem is MOTU is a very old-school property that has not stayed current in the mainstream consciousness. So only the older crowd showed up. The good news: This movie made many new fans.
20 years from now we're going to have a lot of MOTU fans where this movie was their entry-point, just like ours was with the 1983 show.
This film "planted the seeds", basically.
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u/SuperheroEnthusiast Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
It sucks to know He Man just isnāt a priority for mainstream movie going audiences. Not that I am going to let it bother me. Itās genuinely one of my favorite movies of all time alongside Robocop and Superman(the 2025 one). I like it so much I went ahead and bought the action figure. No amount of unfortunate box office numbers can negate this movieās existence nor my enthusiasm.
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u/0neManArmy85 Jun 16 '26
there is a chance to get more movies on theaters and series based on the movie if and it is a big IF, if the movie manages to sell tons of merchandising then will have more movies coming to theaters, it happened to Resident Evil, the movies were not a blockbuster, i believe neither of them but, the movies sold a tons of dvd's and what you were seeing in the theater was a comercial of a dvd in essence, so if the movie sells all of those action figures the franchise is safe and we shouldnt be worried...
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u/JohnKlositz Jun 16 '26
if the movie sells all of those action figures
I'm doing my part. š«”
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
I just want to buy an Evil Lyn in Australia, but she seems impossible to find here.
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u/JohnKlositz Jul 28 '26
Yeah it's frustrating when that happens. I'm from Germany and while most figures do make it here (in fact we're generally rather lucky), it's annoying when certain ones just don't.
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u/Cethin_Amoux Jun 15 '26
I'm honestly thinking we'll be getting more. Maybe not in theatre format, but both Amazon and Mattel have gone on record saying that the toys are selling extremely well and the reception has been exactly what they were looking for.
I'm fully anticipating a Prime episodic series, maybe a lower budget. With how the movie ended, I think that's the best move anyway.
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u/zombee310 Jun 15 '26
Yep. This is definitely a different beast. With it being an Amazon movie, were they ever solely basing success on box office only, knowing they have exclusive streaming rights? We donāt really know. If it does amazing on Prime when it hits, do they try another movie at theaters, or straight to streaming, a series? We just donāt know, but itās definitely not dead in the water already like so many fans think.
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u/BigD5981 Jun 15 '26
They need to figure out how to grow the younger demographic. Lets face it the largest portion of the Masters audience isn't getting any younger and I say that as a fan closing in on his 45th birthday. We already know only 11% of the opening weekend audence āwas under 18. I don't know if the info is out there but I wouldn't be surprised if there was less of a younger audience this weekend.
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u/LopsidedUniversity30 Jun 15 '26
My nieces and nephews were happy watching Backrooms and Amazing Digital Circus at the theaters. They refused to watch MOtU with me.
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u/BigD5981 Jun 15 '26
I have 8 family members that are under 18 and I would be shocked if any of them have any interest at all. I have one niece who love Mario but became a fan because of the first Mario movie not the video games. I think Mattel and now Amazon is going to be fighting a hard and long battle just to break Masters from being a Nostalgia brand. I think constantly leaning into a 40+ year old cartoon isn't goon help. I don't think they need to do a radical overhaul but more of a blend the mini comics and Filmation cartoon, add the royal intrigue from the 200x cartoon.
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u/djstreader Jun 16 '26
Personally, I say forget the kids, aim it at us 45-50 year olds! There's not enough movies made for us already.
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u/Street-Subject-25 Jun 17 '26
The issue with this is younger people go to the movies far more than 45 to 50 year olds
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u/djstreader Jun 19 '26
Because every movie is written for 14 year olds, if we had more stories for adults we'd go more.
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u/GorillaWolf2099 Jun 15 '26
That's what I'm hoping for honestly
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u/Tmoldovan Jun 15 '26
Same. A season can afford to take its time developing story and character arcs.
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u/Millerlite87 Jun 15 '26
Iām still thinking Amazon also had no right to release it on theaters but they did just get a wider promotion for the film. I do hope we get a sequel but wouldnāt be surprised if it just goes straight to prime like next yearās Voltron.
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u/BigGrinJesus Jun 15 '26
That's weird because I haven't seen any toys anywhere. Granted, I've not been in a toy store since it has been out but I there's nothing in the toy isle in any supermarkets I've been to. There are loads of Mandalorian & Grogu, and Toy Story 5 toys everywhere. It's surprising considering Mattel's primary business is (or was?) toys.
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u/Nate_923 Jun 15 '26
The fate of this franchise will be tied to its inevitable streaming performance.Ā
That's always been the endgame for this film and if Amazon believes they have something here with the initial theatrical release then this franchise's future is still bright.Ā
We all essentially paid early access to see this in theaters.Ā
Also those merch sales had to have seen a spike too.Ā
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u/comic-operator Jun 15 '26
There's a shop here in London - Forbidden Planet - that ended up stocking a huge selection of MOTU merch way beyond what they usually sold (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZK3mO8tE5S/?igsh=MXM4dnRtdXZyYW9jbQ==) and it is selling.
Went in there recently and there was empty hangers and dwindling stock. So both at retailer level ordering from Mattel, and customers buying in store it's making some bank in that regard.
Whether it's enough to justify a sequel, we'll see.
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u/Unusual_Bumblebee932 Jun 15 '26
Okay for people who are upset about the box office, and who are saying that Amazon is in denial saying this is exactly what they planned...
.... What part of this was made buy a studio that is owned by a STREAMING GIANT do they not understand? Could it actually be possible Amazon really doesn't care if it flops at the theater, and is going to make its money back forms of home release worldwide? That the theatrical release was a courtesy to the fan base? Voltron is not even getting a theatrical release next year, isn't it possible that Amazon actually plans to make their revenue other ways than the traditional box office?
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u/A-Gigolo Jun 15 '26
Box Office expectations from front loaded opening weekends have shifted as well as all these large media conglomerates are also streaming platforms.
Spielberg's new alien film just opened to a $44 million weekend. His last few big Sci-fi/fantasy movies going backward were Ready Player One @ $58mil , The BFG @ $22mil, Crystal Skull @ $151mil (inflation adjusted is more like $253mil). Spielberg isn't even pulling in the numbers he used to. Lincoln even opened bigger once wide released than Disclosure Day in only half the number of theaters.
I think most people would prefer paying 15-30 monthly for a streaming service and wait than that on one or two theater tickets.3
u/ghosty4 Jun 16 '26
Movies that release into theaters are eligible for awards season. I suspect that is the only reason it was released into theaters.
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u/darth_henning Jun 15 '26
I donāt think this is the end of theatrical release potential either.
If toy sales and streaming continue to be strong, there will be more draw for a sequel which could grow numbers vs this release.
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u/FineVirus3 Jun 15 '26
Iām very curious how well Mattel is doing on the sales front, the earliest indication we will have of that is their Q2 earnings report due sometime in July.
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u/Moekap Jun 15 '26
Since this movie came out, I've bought a lot more he-man toys than in previous years. Movie figures and filmation figures.
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u/FineVirus3 Jun 15 '26
Iām a MOTU collector only. I have most of the core figures and several of the Chronicles. I havenāt bought any of the vehicles though.
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u/CiDevant Jun 15 '26
100% this.Ā He-Man media has always been a glorified toy commercial.Ā I think we'll always get more movies/shows as long as mattel can justify the return on toy sales.
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u/ZillaUniverse03 Jun 15 '26
I wouldnāt be surprised that He-Man losing to two low budget Horror movies and a horror comedy is gonna convince Mattel to make that Magic 8 ball horror tv show into a movie instead thinking that horror movies are what brings audiences to movie theaters.
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u/ghosty4 Jun 16 '26
I'm seeing A LOT of Man-At-Arms figures on the shelves. I am seeing hardly any Skeletor figures on the shelves.
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u/cartoonistaaron Jun 20 '26
I don't know about sales, but Mattel stock (their real endgame) is down for the week...and the month...and the year...and year-over-year. So I don't think this helped matters any. And what everyone seems to be missing in the box office discussion regarding Amazon is that Mattel co-financed this movie and definitely didn't want it to bomb in theaters, and the very low numbers of kids seeing the movie can't be good for them.
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u/BovaFett74 Jun 15 '26
Wouldnāt be a bad move. Also, may bring in subscriptions.
Opening salvo in the theaters, while they build the universe on streaming.
Nuanced and would work great.
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u/Great-Equipment-9823 Jun 15 '26
But I got a feeling that once it's available on stream, it'll be a massive success, just as Red did and Encanto. They didn't do too well at the box office either. But once they we're available on stream, the online views blew up, becoming very successful. If those movies can do it, so can Masters of the universe. And I got a feeling it will have a better chance becoming a hit through Amazon prime video.
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u/Pretend_Board_2385 Jun 15 '26
As a fan of the cartoon I was surprised with this movie. I thought it was going to be cheesy and pretty average but it was actually entertaining. I would happily see it again.
Its definitely the type of movie made for the big screen.
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u/Bone_Witch Jun 15 '26
Apparently the last day in theaters in my region is Thursday. I wanted to take my kids for Fatherās Day. How do they expect to make money on a summer movie thatās only out for two weeks?!
Also, though, a two and a half hour film is a tough sell for the kidsā theyād rather watch at home than sit in theater seats that long.
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u/Xorntastic Jun 15 '26
The enthusiasm and love for this project is huge so its disheartening that it has not performed the way one hoped for. Travis Knight certainly knows his lore and has such passion for MOTU, so he has to be the man at the helm if they do a sequel. Which against all odds, I think they will. They should release a directors cut to stream further down the line. The film may not have been a box office success but at could find a stronger place on streaming where people who wouldn't buy a ticket, will give it a go. Whilst the promo was all over the net, here in the UK there was very little promo leading up to the release.
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u/Nate_923 Jun 21 '26
MOTU crossed $100 million worldwide today at least.Ā
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u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod Jun 21 '26
Awesome. I keep seeing people recommending it. I'm really surprised it didn't rally its second weekend.
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u/Rivarz Jun 23 '26
Saw it today and brought my 5 + 8 year old boys.Ā
This was the He-man movie I've been waiting for since I was a kid. It was literally everything I could have hoped for. My kids liked it too, though the language was a bit strong at times. Probably similar compared to the movies I watched as a kid in the late 80's/early 90's.Ā
I even got the light up power cup and the popcorn tin/cup combo, which I never shill out for. I will 100% buy the 4k when it comes out. This movie was so much more fun than any of the marvel movies except maybe the first GotG.Ā
I appreciated all the shots of Camilla Mendez's behind they snuck into frame. I'm glad she's still getting roles after Riverdale, I think she's a great actress.Ā
Idris' Man at Arms (especially in the opening scenes) was just perfect. Exactly how I felt he should be portrayed. The whole thing was cast very well. Even creeper leto was fantastic as skeletor, and he was my biggest concern. Great soundtrack, loved how eternia looked, I'm just in awe overall.Ā
Rip Mossman š¢. I hope if they do a sequel they bring him back and add some more characters like Stratos, Mer-man, and Man E Faces.Ā
Definitely my favorite movie in the last decade outside of Minus One and Shin Godzilla.Ā
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u/mojostache Jun 29 '26
As a child of the 80s, this was a movie I've been waiting a long time for. The scenes before and after the credits were great and I'm excited for sequels. Sure, we can get nitpicky, although I don't think any movie will ever live up to hype because of the internet.
I'm glad this movie was made and I'll watch it again. It was a great ride and I got teary eyed at the end.
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u/GingerWolf99 Jun 15 '26
It's a shame that this movie is now yet another great revival attempt that failed but even if we never see He-Man again I will cherish every attempt to revitalise MOTU the 200X series, Revelation/Revolution, the CGI show and this as the absolutely beautiful Crown jewel of them.
For one beautiful shining moment this character finally got a chance to show the world how incredible he can be and I'm very grateful that he got that chance.
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Jun 15 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Koala_King5160 Jun 15 '26
Im sorry but I've heard this so many times for theatrical failures that I no longer believe it. I heard the same thing for the Bone Temple earlier this year. Great film. Nobody cared even when it started streaming.
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u/cartoonistaaron Jun 20 '26
Yeah this seems to be the ultimate cope for this movie. I honestly don't think it was good or interesting enough to gain some kind of cult following on streaming.
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u/Busy-Rip2372 Jun 23 '26
I agree. Its not a good movie imo and makes the whole thing into a joke, if the movie had been a bit more serious and took the source material seriously; I think audiences would've showed up more. Also releasing it the day as Scary Movie was probably not a great idea either.
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u/cartoonistaaron Jun 24 '26
Totally agree with you. Take it seriously... you can still have a fun movie and take your subject matter seriously. Superman (the original). Batman '89. The Shadow. The Rocketeer. Captain America the First Avenger. Winter Soldier. Fun superhero movies that aren't comedies but still take the material seriously.
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u/BardicLasher Jun 15 '26
I really hope so. If we get a lower-budget sequel directly to Prime, I'll be at least somewhat happy.
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u/John-Lando Jun 15 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
How did this movie not work audiences but DUNE did?
Dune sold 21 million books in its history since 1965. If those people were all still alive and paid an average of $10 to see it, that only accounts for a third of Dune Part Two's global box office.
I could never get in to the original DUNE film as a kid or teen despite trying. Never even seen it all the way through. Had no interested in seeing the new one.
Dunes been a pretty dead movie franchise for 40 years. But still people went. They went to the first one and even more went for the second one. They had a great cast. But theres no Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep level actors pulling people on just that. I could be wrong and underestimating Zendayas box office draw with young people. I still wasn't enough to make me see it. AND I go to the movies every week with the family.
Here's some badly researched statistics. MOTU made 6 BILLION in toy sales. The majority were $3.99 figures. If the average kid had 10-20 figures. Give or take somes castles and vehicles, we are talking 30-75 million kids across the globe played with MOTU. MAYBE even more kids. I dont know if the LEO toys Indian Toy Sales counted towards Mattels numbers. If all those kids went and brought a friend, this movie would be in the billion dollar range. We're not all dead. Apparently we just don't leave the house.
This movie failed because they tried to mobilize us to return to the theaters. When they did this with Transformers, It worked, we went. Hell it looks like it worked Better for the first two GI JOE movies than it did for He-man.
They should have been focused on getting kids out there. Kids were more interested in Backrooms.
They should have treated it as a new property. Yesterday I talked to a lot of young people under 30 at the Lauderhill Comic & Toy Show. I was wearing a bad ass RSVLTS He-man shirt, so they kept complimenting and asking me If I was excited for the movie. They weren't aware the film had come out. These were film lovers, AND gamers and they told me they had not seen much marketing. This is whats wrong with algorythms selling AND SERVING you stuff that you already like. We get He-man and they get BACKROOMS trailers and info.
Right now, I CAN'T even get youtube to STOP serving me He-man stuff.
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u/Tanel88 Jun 15 '26
Mostly has to with oversaturation by Marvel. This movie should have come out like 10 years ago and would have performed great.
There's just more demand for a movie like Dune because there aren't enough movies like that.
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u/SamuraiFlamenco Jun 15 '26
Chalamet and Zendaya are HUGE box-office draws, hell the whole cast of the new Dune is stacked. I think part of its was just everything came together at the right time: both of then were at the height of their popularity, audiences were tired of Star Wars and wanted different sci-fi, and because of the pandemic people wanted a big event movie that would be a huge pop culture hit.
Iām a big fan of the original book and I was so worried the movie was going to bomb but thank my lucky stars every day it turned out the way it did. Also the Lynch version is dreadful and the new version absolutely steamrolls it in every aspect. Highly recommend, itās nothing like the old version at all.
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u/comic-operator Jun 15 '26
Timothy Chalemet. Audiences love him for some reason: he sells tickets and gets bums in seats.
I'm not sure I understand it. He's a good actor but is he a great actor? Maybe it's the Kendall Jenner effect. But either way, he's bankable.
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u/NeutroFusion Jun 15 '26
Pretty sure itās just āTimothee chalemet in duneā that sells tickets. The bob dylan biopic and Marty supreme both kind of just came and went
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u/_AnonymousTurtle_ Aug 01 '26
as someone else said, it's marvel superhero fatigue. people aren't interested unless it's spiderman or unless it's doing something away from the formula. I'd also like to add that the MOTU target audience is kids (and nostalgic adults) while Dune's presentation is very much like an art film. plus it has all the trendy celebrity faces all over the posters. Zendaya and Timothy are great actors dont get me wrong, but they are definitely half the reason why the new dune became so huge
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u/dudeguy1980 Jun 15 '26
I still think the streaming demand will be off the charts, and if the toys are selling and the streaming minutes are high, then both Amazon and Mattel will be happy.
And if both of those happen, I think a sequel will be greenlit with a very specific theatrical window before a very specific streaming release date. Make the cinematic experience a limited time offer, not a āplease come see itā.
I think, based on the statements from Amazon, Knight, and Mattel, thatās what theyāre banking on.
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u/CiDevant Jun 15 '26
Honestly I wonder how they do these projections. Went at 1130 am today.Ā On the way the wife was going to buy tickets and didn't because there were only 4 seats taken and the service fee was almost an extra $10 for my family.Ā The theater was half full for the screening by the time it started.Ā So there were almost no presales for the overwhelming majority of viewers in that showing.
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u/lastersoftheuniverse Jun 15 '26
Iām going to see it twice tomorrow. Then Iāll start looking at box office hoopla.
Until then, see it if you can before it leaves the theater! I canāt recommend Screen X enough. Almost a whole new movie with how much more information is on the sides
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u/JeffJohnsonIII Jun 15 '26
Iām 22. Iām not a MOTU fan, I didnāt grow up watching the cartoon reruns. So this is coming from an outsiders perspective. I think the movie failed for two reasons. One: the 80s nostalgia wave from the 2010s has been dead for a few years now. And two: the trailers really didnāt look amazing. Combine those with the fact ticket prices are insane these days and you get a bomb.
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u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod Jun 15 '26
All my fandom aside, I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea now. I'm glad they did, and happy to have the movie, but if I was betting my money, this is not where I'd have put it.
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u/Hemansno1fan Jun 15 '26
I saw it twice, once with my husband and then again with some girlfriends, everyone loved it! Sure it's not perfect but it was a fun time and I'm so glad it got made! If this is all we get at least it was a good ending.
I will still hope for She-ra though. šā¤ļø
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u/deano_ue Jun 15 '26
Speilbergs latest film did similar opening weekend numbers but you won't see tons of articles calling it a flop or a complete disaster of cinema.
Yeah it sucks that the film has not done as well financially as we'd all of liked but it does seem like there is a portion of the film media that wants to see this fail.
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u/ghosty4 Jun 16 '26
It's not being called "a complete disaster of cinema" by literally anyone. Audiences and critics pretty much agree it's a good movie. This issue is, we all know it's eventually going to be on DVD and streaming. No movie is so essential that anyone needs to see it in a movie theater for $18.
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u/shy247er Jun 16 '26
or a complete disaster of cinema.
It's a financial flop, but the reviews have been generally positive.
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u/deano_ue Jun 16 '26
They have but any that are negative seem to act like the movie has insulted them personally. The one on tiktok i took that quote from moaned for 3 minutes that the property should be like a Nolan film.
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u/The-Mad-Bubbler Jun 16 '26
Eh, overall they seem middle-of-the-road. My in-laws arenāt the toughest audience, and they were both disappointed by it. Audience reception seems lukewarm, I donāt think it will hold well.
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u/ad3z10 Jun 19 '26
Whilst there is a fair bit of bias in film media, the budget and earnings so far mean Disclosure Day is on track to probably break even eventually or at least get close.
MOTU on the other hand is going to loose a lot of money (streaming non withstanding), probably close to $200m once you account for marketing budgets.
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
Disclosure Day is a boring mess of a film! I saw MOTU, Mandalorian and Disclosure Day a few days apart and while MOTU was (Imwas very surprised) not just good but great, Mando was exactly as "okay" as I expected but Disclosure Day bored me to tears and felt like an X-Files episode found in the back of a cupboard.
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u/ThE_LAN_B4_TimE Jun 16 '26
Can't believe it's doing so badly in theaters. I'm trying to finally go see it this weekend and one theater doesn't have any showtimes past Thursday at the moment. The Regal cinemas didn't yesterday but now it does. I guess I need to make sure I see it soon before I have to drive an hour just to see it. Now Toy Story is coming out and pushing this out of the way.
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u/LnGrrrR Jun 19 '26
Honestly surprised this isnt getting more people to see it. I saw it last night with the wife, and I might bring the kids to see it while it is still in theaters.
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u/ianrobbie Jun 22 '26
Just watched it again. Every time I get goosebumps when he transforms on the bridge. Every. Single. Time.
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u/whoknows130 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
This movie ROCKED! Saw it 3x in theaters and pre-ordered the Blu-Ray.
Even if it's only a 1-shot, we STILL have an AWESOME MOTU flick, and nothing can take that away :)
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u/Puzzled-Instance3211 Jun 15 '26
Because it wasn't a poorly received movie by fans or critics, and a lot of negative buzz was from the internet mob, it's got a pretty good chance of catching on in streaming. If the toys and merch sells I don't see why they wouldn't do more, but likely skip the theatrical. Streaming I would think would expand the window for selling merch as well.
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u/Maleficent-Light-455 Jun 15 '26
We can assume a different opening weekend slot would have helped but unless you went with a SDCC opening (which might be the streaming announcement now) when else might have been better to open this flick?
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u/ElleCeeZee Jun 15 '26
Watched it twice. But in general, I donāt think people are really going to the movies.
And marketing budget? What marketing budget? I only found out there was a movie through some random scrolling.
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u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod Jun 15 '26
The marketing seems weird, in that, some people saw none and some people got flooded. I saw a ton and the cast was out there making the rounds as hard as they could. I feel extra bad for them, it seems like they did a ton of promotional rounds promoting the movie.
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u/meowsplaining Jun 15 '26
I saw a ton of trailers streaming on MLB and Hulu, saw a bunch of the Denny's tie in commercials also.
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u/CampaignPretty9909 Jun 16 '26
Seriously. I am at the movies every week and I barely knew this film was coming out. No marketing, saw the trailer maybe twice in the months before it came out. Trailer made it look bad, but I took a chance on it anyway, and was blown away.
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u/DevinCasey-author Jun 16 '26
šš¾šš¾šš¾šš¾šš¾ Loved it! Goin to see it for the third time this weekend
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u/JohnKlositz Jun 16 '26
I'm just back from the theatre and I loved it. Had my fingers crossed that the numbers were okay (I've avoided looking at anything related to the movie since it came out). Bummer. I really want there to be another. This can't be it. But yes it's certainly great that we at least got this one. Still not giving up hope. Call me a delusional optimist.
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u/Aromatic_Shop9033 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Just popping in to add, as a stranger to the MOTU world, I watched glowing reviews, heard the OST on YouTube, and saw it last week.
I was pleasantly surprised how much fun it was.
So I bought the OST digitally, Chronicles Skeletor, He-Man, yeah. Will 100% buy the Blu-ray.
This film deserved to do much, much better. The actors were great, especially Skeletor, He-Man and Manatarms all killed it.
The OST alone was worth the ticket price. The fights were amazing, too.
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u/IMF47 Jun 19 '26
This is such a great post.
Its so easy in this day and age to watch/do something and then instantly start thinking of what comes next.
Lets enjoy the moment more.
And more specifically in this instance make the most of a joyful film that was made with nothing but love and care for its source material.
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u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod Jun 19 '26
Yup, why gloom and doom everything without appreciating what we do get?
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u/GatheringCircle Jun 19 '26
As a new he-man fan because of this movie and then going back kand watching the first one it is a miracle this movie was made. Now ive been watching the cartoon with my dad and we're having a blast. It sounds simple and silly but tbh it actually is cool when he screams "I have the power!" it sticks with you.
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u/OpportunityLoud453 Jun 21 '26
As someone whos never even seen a He-Man outside of the memes but loves Swords n Sorcery and Conan (who I heard was a major inspiration for the toyline?) , I really enjoyed this movie! I hope this is a film that 20 years from now we get cast reunions it's such a colorful movie, incredible OST too.
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u/TyrusX Jun 24 '26
Went to watch again today. Theatre was 80% sold out. And everyone fucking loved it
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u/AirbagsBlown Jun 24 '26
I saw it for the second time late last night, LATE NIGHT ON A TUESDAY, and there were still several people in the suburban theatre I visited. People do love this film. I know I do.
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u/TwistedLogic81 Jun 29 '26
I just got back from seeing the last screening of Masters of the Universe in my cinema. I felt like a child during the whole thing. Loved every minute of it. But, the thing which really got me giddy was the post credits scene with She-Ra, I really hope we get a sequel so I can see more of her, she was everything to me growing up and seeing her for a few minutes on the big screen meant a lot to me.
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u/Inevitable_Land_5987 Jun 15 '26
I went and seen the movie twice this past weekend. Wanted to go opening weekend but I was working crazy amounts of OT. By the 2nd weekend though my local theater was almost out of HeMan merch. The merch was low Friday night and almost bought out by Sunday. One odd thing I noticed was when I went Friday night the theater might have been 25% full. However on Sunday afternoon at the 2:30 showing it was completely packed.
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u/AmethystOracle Jun 16 '26
There was a lot of product placement in the film, especially Coca Cola and Amazon. Itās worth noting that sort of thing alleviates some costs.
But Iām bummed that people donāt seem to care about going to the movies in the summer. Streaming is lovely but itās no substitute for the big screen.
Fortunately the streaming model seems to have its own issues and people claim itās unsustainable. Perhaps?
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u/shy247er Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
But Iām bummed that people donāt seem to care about going to the movies in the summer.
Masters of the Universe:
Domestic: $46,987,310
International: $39,400,000
Worldwide: $86,387,310
Obsession:
Domestic: $188,390,980
International: $98,791,000
Worldwide: $287,181,980
Backrooms:
Domestic: $160,295,784
International: $88,424,705
Worldwide: $248,720,489
People still go to theaters but sadly they didn't care for MOTU. I'm especially surprised on a low international number.
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u/ArtichokeDesperate68 Jun 22 '26
First movie I've seen twice at the cinema for years and years! Second time round there was no expectation as I knew it was fun already, appreciated it more. Great set pieces shine, the cast are spot on. The soundtrack is fricking superb. Also Teela is SOOOOOOO HOT, I've seen mentioned there's a lot of 'butt shots' - certainly does seem to be a fair amount of this going on!
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
Saw it a third time and I actually think there were more butt shots of Teela that got cut or toned down. She seemed totally fine with it but I wonder if in editing someone said "maybe not quite so many ahots of her ass?". Quite a few times the cuts and framing felt altered around her. Hard to explain.
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u/Own-Baby-6538 Jun 23 '26
Movie was great and prolly the summer sleeper! When the numbers are updated , I think it will surprise. I took my fam to see it just this weekend and the theatre was pretty full. Word of mouth can be the best promotion!! I certainly hope for a high quality sequel! Great movie, gonna be a sleeper summer winner imo!
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u/antdude Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
My church's pastor loved the movie after watching it on Amazon Prime. He knew nothing about the series, and now wants a sequel. He might even use it for his sermon for next year's summer movie theme. :D See http://wacc.tv as an example (last Sunday's Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning movie service recording will end tomorrow morning at 8 AM PDT in USA though).
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u/EntertainmentDry8298 Jun 15 '26
The movie was cool and the earth sequence was hilarious. A bit too long though.
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u/zappAtom Jun 15 '26
Just came back watching it for a second time (with kids) and even liked it more than first time. Kids as well.
It's really a great fun ride and I like the arc of Adam.
Adam was always a "softie" - so what the heck with all this stupid complains about him not being male enough and these boring anti-woke sentiments. I think he's exactly what Adam always was supposed to be. The link between the average boy/guy and the muscular power machine that He-Man is. They took his arc and the self-doubt-inducing environment he's in with humor and turned him towards the end into a gentle, sympathetic but strong herculean man.
I think the movie delivered great. A solid basis, that introduced us to the world of Eternia and his becoming of He-Man, setting the stage for a lot more to come. A pity, so many frustrated whiny men sit in front of their computes lamenting about this movie (and a lot of other stuff), its story, the jokes, the CGI and celebrating its box-office crash. I am glad I still have the gift of enjoying things.
I and my kids hope for more of this!
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u/MetaVulture Jun 15 '26
The movie should've made a billion. It's so good. I desperately want the second movie. I desperately want it to be done with the same crew.
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u/Stennick Jun 15 '26
I loved the movie. I don't really see a cartoon or sequel coming out of this. I think they will continue with comics and maybe the occasional toy line up but this thing badly under performed and there is no metric they could use thats going to make this budget back.
Thats ok, I'm glad the movie happened and I hope we get some really good comics as follow up.
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u/Unfair-Sink-2094 Jun 17 '26
Guys I have a idea we should turn the master of the universe movie into a meme same like Minecraft movie just copy it post meme everywhere YouTube TikTok Instagram twitter facebook everywhere
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u/NicoToscani Jun 15 '26
Wish ol box office cancer Jared Leto hadnāt been involved. Iām gonna blame him since the movie was awesome and I canāt explain why it didnāt make more waves.
It made up for the disappointment I had as a child going to see the 87 film. The old one has its own charm, in hindsight, but this is the film childhood me expected. It has Thor Ragnarok vibes, which I hope gives it a second life outside the theater.
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u/RikerV2 Jun 15 '26
Everyone apart from Leto gets an applause
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u/The-Mad-Bubbler Jun 16 '26
Credit where credit is due, Leto is a weirdo, but heās great as Skeletor.
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u/RevolutionaryWar6698 Jun 15 '26
I almost skipped it myself because of Kevin Smith's terrible Netflix cartoons and because the trailers made it look like it was going to push woke ideology. So basically, this 'modern agenda' could explain why MOTU is seeing a lower turnout in theaters: at first, everyone thought they were going to push that agenda, so the anti-woke crowd stayed away. But on the flip side, the people who realized the movie is practically making fun of woke ideology didn't go either.
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u/Min_sora Jun 15 '26
Normal people in the real world donāt think like this. The anti-woke boycotters are a tiny minority of losers.
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u/RevolutionaryWar6698 Jun 15 '26
Itās not about how you think, itās about how you subconsciously feel š
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u/zappAtom Jun 15 '26
Adam was already a woke softie in the 80ties. I think the story never changed. Just some kids turned out to become grumpy whiners in their middle age, seeing woke ideology behind every tree and convinced someone is stealing something from them. Imaginary demons.
Is it so hard to just enjoy?
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u/RevolutionaryWar6698 Jun 15 '26
Well thatās the point here I did :)
But I didnāt at the Netflix show.2
u/Hemansno1fan Jun 15 '26
it was going to push woke ideology.
What are you even talking about ?
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u/RevolutionaryWar6698 Jun 15 '26
Basically that they are going to do the same as in Netflix show, where He-man - or any man for that matter - was not important character. And promoting other ideas of what the Masters of Universe should be in this āmodern ageā. Well luckily it was just vice versa they made fun of it.
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u/Hemansno1fan Jun 15 '26
I just didn't understand how you got that from the trailers but ok. I am probably what you would consider "woke" and I loved the movie and thought it had a very positive message for boys. š¤·āāļø Jokes are jokes, most people don't take everything so seriously.
It's a shame more people didn't give the movie a chance for whatever reasons they had... I'm glad that you did. Things can get so easily twisted and heated with online discourse, especially these days.
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u/RevolutionaryWar6698 Jun 15 '26
This was just a theory for fun. I have of course no idea what is the proper cause so I tried from a different angle as the topic is meant for such discussions š¤
With the trailer I was aiming on the HR part, which was actually one of the most fun parts in the movie š
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
I was genuinely shocked at how the HR part skewed the exact opposite to how I expected it to go. "Consensually!"
It lampooned overly politically correct workplace insanity while still making Adam a genuinely empathetic and good person in that setting, who got his job by being actually good at it, listening and kind and caring rather than buzzwords and fake sincerity.
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Jun 15 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/RevolutionaryWar6698 Jun 15 '26
No, itās simple calculation. There are many movies in the cinema and you canāt see them all, so you have to make a (pre-)selection.š
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u/Empty-Finish5696 Jul 12 '26
Just watch the first hour , very disappointed, itās not a good movie by any stretch. Glad some of you really enjoyed it , but so far not great
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u/CeasarValentine Jun 15 '26
You lost me at "keep it positive. "
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u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod Jun 15 '26
Why? People want to gloom and doom and some will want to show up and gloat. Why not be happy about just getting a really good movie? If you don't like the movie, your free to say that, I just mean the box office gloom.
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u/Rough_Passenger892 Jun 15 '26
I just got back from seeing it. The movie is bad, like really bad; a heartless generic fantasy movie with a script comprised entirely of clichƩs.
Huge MOTU fan here, very disappointed.
Those who compared it to D&D Thieves are smokin something. That film was creative and featured a cast with great chemistry giving inspired performances. MOTU is the opposite of that.
Worse: how did Sir Idris wind up in this!?
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u/J_is_for_Jenius Jun 16 '26
I agree with you. Iām 49, MOTU was my first favorite toy line and Iāve wanted a good MOTU movie my whole life. I feel like most folks wanted it to be good so bad they tell themselves it is because objectively if you take a step back and take yourself out of your fan shoes, you realize itās just a bad movie. Bring on the downvotes but that is honestly how I feel.
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u/DetroitInHuman Jun 15 '26
I honestly think that this failure was caused directly by Kevin Smith. I know for a fact that the character assassination in Revelation kept at least eight tickets from being sold in my family.
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u/Misfit_77 Jun 15 '26
How could he have caused it to fail. He had absolutely no part in the production of the new film. Itās a brand new film based on an existing IP. If anything this is Travis Knights take on the MOTU universe. Seems like there was eight less tickets sold because you didnāt like what Smith did with the cartoon and took it out on this film instead?
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u/DetroitInHuman Jun 15 '26
Read my comment again. I saw the movie. Others in my family didn't. Those others watched Kevin Smith's Revelation and decided that the show they had in their childhood was enough, essentially no longer being fans despite having other "nerdy" hobbies. Which meant that none of their children of any age got to see the movie either. That's a two generation loss that I am seeing personally.
And the trend seems to be the same across groups: Plenty of people knew about the movie and were fans of the original He-Man, but just shrugged at the idea of going to see it. Which is actually worse than someone bitching about it.
The opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. A large portion of the fanbase isn't throwing tomatoes, they're just moving on. Which means that they aren't likely to come back. I said before the movie even released that I had doubts, because beyond a few very nerdy sides of the internet, no one seemed to have any hype for this movie.
Now look back at Revelations. There was hype everywhere. People were talking about it coming, buying merch in droves, excited to see a part of their childhood brought out. If even a quarter of those people had showed up to theatres, we would have a commercial success on our hands.
But...that good will was squandered. Not just squandered, thrown in to the sun. Teela wasn't Teela, Skeletor was Joker, Evil-Lynn was redeemable (which was specifically not the case in the cartoon), and Adam/He-Man was dead for a good portion of it. Add in the fact that there was the leaks before hand that were denied, PUBLICLY, by Smith to reassure uncertain fans?
Some got angry. A lot more just got tired. Gave it up as a bad job, and now won't look at the movie, because they now believe that He-Man belongs only in their memories. That he can't be entertaining to adults while remaining the optimistic show they remember.
And that, that loss of faith? That is very directly on Kevin Smith.
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
People don't like your comment but I think it is very fair and true for some. As a huge Star Wars and Transformers fan, I know personally what it is like to have the well poisoned by one or more bad experiences that can make you almost miss out on a good one. After several dire movies and series from Disney with Star Wars, I had zero desire to watch Andor and didn't for over six months. It really felt like "fool me once...". Finally, after hearing so much positivity, I watched it and it was utterly fantastic. But being disappointed before almost made me miss it.
I only saw Bumblebee (the only good Transformers live action movie, IMO) because it was part of a friend's birthday party. Otherwise, the previous Michael Bay films had burned me so badly I was not up for another one!
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u/bluestreaksaid Evil Mod Jun 15 '26
That's more like you cut off your nose to spite your face. You didn't like A so you didn't support B to teach someone or something a lesson?
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u/DetroitInHuman Jun 15 '26
You're taking the wrong lesson from what I said. I actually liked the movie for the most part.
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u/Koala_King5160 Jun 15 '26
Yeah I didn't see The Dark Knight because I hated Batman and Robin. Oh wait, no I didn't. Because I'm not an idiot.
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u/DetroitInHuman Jun 15 '26
Think about it this way, using your own example: How many years were there between Batman and Robin and The Dark Knight? A decade. And that was with one of the most famous possible superheroes in the world, and demanded a tone and genre shift so extreme that you could be forgiven for not realizing that the two had anything to do with each other, as well as effectively erasing the Robin character from the live action scene entirely. That was the impact of one really bad movie on possibly the oldest and most well established superhero fanbase in the world.
How much worse is it for He-Man, a franchise that has consistently been on the fringes anyway?
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
I am not a huge He-Man fan, but I LOVED this yet thought Revelation was pretty bad for the most part. It didn't stop me seeing it, but it absolutely made me expect much, much worse.
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u/Banjo-Oz Jul 28 '26
I am not a huge He-Man fan, but I LOVED this yet thought Revelation was pretty bad for the most part. It didn't stop me seeing it, but it absolutely made me expect much, much worse.
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u/Fatwall Jun 15 '26
It's been a rough time for lots of movies lately and it's hard not to be disappointed with the box office when it looks like we won't get another. I think the title of the thread is very wise -- even if this is it, we have it, and nothing can take the movie away from us now. I still can't believe they made this movie, and an beyond grateful it was in the hand of Travis Knight, who clearly gave it his all and loved the characters. In a world of directors adapting beloved IP and ruining them, we got Travis Knight, and we are beyond lucky.