2026's Underrated $114 Million Sci-Fi Blockbuster Can Get Justice Starting Today

Published Jul 22, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. As of today, July 22, 2026, one of the year's most underrated blockbusters can get the justice and viewership it's deserved all along. Theaters are back! Says many a column online this year. It's true, in part. There have been a lot of success stories. Obsession, Backrooms, The Odyssey, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie have dominated the box office and got people in theaters. For the first time in years, the phrase "you have to see this in theaters" does not feel like a suggestion to go on an overseas vacation. It's nearly back to being the routine weekend plan that it was pre-2020. Still, we're not talking about pre-pandemic movie-going, and movies that you would think would do big numbers have fizzled. Masters of the Universe seemingly dropped at the right time, and yet flopped at the box office. Travis Knight's sword-and-sorcery adaptation of the Mattel media franchise of the same name debuted in theaters on June 5, 2026, just a couple of weeks after Backrooms and Obsession, and a little before Toy Story 5 and Supergirl. It wasn't as if this summer was a downtime for movie-going. Even still, Masters of the Universe made $114 million against a $170 million budget, officially designating it as a flop (via BoxOfficeMojo). However, as of July 22, 2026, Masters of the Universe will be available to stream on Prime Video, which may mean it will earn the attention it deserves. Masters Of The Universe Can Finally Find Its Audience On Streaming That $114 million box-office take may sound like a lot, but when compared to the budget, it's a lot less than the producers were probably expecting. Star Wars and the MCU used to be able to be counted on to get big, epic blockbuster money, but in recent years, those two franchises have not grabbed viewers like they used to. In that vacuum, a movie like Masters of the Universe, a fun, action-packed romp with familiar characters, should have done better. Now that it's available on streaming, it's possible Masters of the Universe could have a second life. While it's notoriously difficult to calculate the exact return of a film when it gets to streaming, producers still know when a movie has high viewing numbers. There are no concrete plans for a Masters of the Universe sequel at the moment, which is strange considering how well-developed the lore of the franchise is. Perhaps if the film does well on streaming, that would be enough of a push to reignite interest in continuing the franchise. Masters Of The Universe Is Better Than Its Box Office Suggests © Amazon MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection Though it didn't make its budget back, Masters of the Universe did earn some good reviews from critics, with a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences in particular seemed pleased with the film. Masters of the Universe could have been a cynical cash grab, coasting off nostalgia and the waning success of other toy-based films like Barbie and the Transformers movies. Instead, Masters of the Universe is a joyful, colorful return to a universe that older viewers will remember fondly, and younger viewers will understand why it was so appreciated in the first place. It's not the greatest film of 2026, and there are some problems with it, but it deserved to at least make back its budget. There's a classic story of heroes vs. villains in Masters of the Universe that's easy to get a handle on, and the MCU-style jokes that cut into the drama are taken down a level. Streaming has disrupted movies, and not always for the best, but in a case like Masters of the Universe, streaming may be a boon. Release Date June 3, 2026 Runtime 141 minutes Director Travis Knight Writers Aaron Nee, Chris Butler, Dave Callaham, Adam Nee Producers DeVon Franklin, Jason Blumenthal, Robbie Brenner, Todd Black Cast Nicholas Galitzine Adam Glenn / He-Man