Masters Of The Universe Box Office Hits Major Milestone That’s Still A Fraction Of Its Huge Budget

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He-Man holding his sword in Masters of the Universe

Published Jun 21, 2026, 5:11 PM EDT

Matthew Biggin joined the Screen Rant team as a News Writer in 2021. He has also worked as a screenwriter and script editor, as well as contributing to various movie and TV blogs. Matt is a movie buff, Twin Dad, and football (soccer) enthusiast, who knows with absolute, categorical, iron-clad certainty, that Han shot first.

Masters of the Universe has finally reached a global box office milestone.

The second big screen live action adaptation of Mattel's hugely iconic franchise follows the character of Prince Adam/He-Man, as he leaves Earth to return to his home planet of Eternia, and do battle with the villainous Skeletor. After years in development hell, the brand-new Masters of the Universe movie hit theaters June 5, 2026.

Per Variety, the movie added another $5.6 million from just over 2,500 theaters on its third weekend of release, giving it a domestic total of $56 million, and a global return of $101.9 million, passing the $100 million mark. However, this is significantly down from the movie's $200 million budget.

There is no question that hitting $100 million is an important benchmark for any movie, but it is important to note that Masters of the Universe is one of the most expensive movies ever made. For the movie to only just be clearing $100 million on its third weekend in theaters makes for an underwhelming performance.

There could be a number of reasons behind the movie's box office bomb status, such as an inflated budget (between $170-200 million), and a disjointed marketing campaign that struggled to capture the sort of tone that fans were expecting. However, it should be noted that horror's dominance of the market in recent weeks, following the box office success of Backrooms and Obsession, meant that Masters of the Universe had stiffer competition than anticipated.

Another factor that could have contributed to the movie's poor return is its release as a summer blockbuster, competing against successful franchise movies like Toy Story 5, as well as Star Wars vehicle The Mandalorian and Grogu. Regardless, the movie's muted performance could damage any hopes of a long-term franchise, despite the fact that a sequel is reportedly in development.

Despite Masters of the Universe's strong cast, and Bumblebee director Travis Knight's clear love of the source material, the movie has failed to resonate with audiences for many reasons, and it lacks the charm and goofiness of the original 1987 movie, whilst missing the thrilling action and immersive story required of the sword and sorcery genre.

The one shred of positivity is that the original Masters of the Universe was also a box office flop — though with a far smaller budget – but the film has since become a cult movie, and there is the hope that this movie can enjoy a similar accolade in the future.