This 140-Minute Action Fantasy Is Suddenly Dominating the Streaming Charts

Published Jul 31, 2026, 7:05 PM EDT Lloyd 'Happy Trails' Farley: the man, the myth, the legend. What can be said about this amazing - and humble - man that hasn't been said before? Or, more accurately, what can be said in public? Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Lloyd is a master of puns and a humorist, who has authored one pun book to date - Pun and Grimeish Mint - and is working on a second. His time with Collider has allowed Lloyd's passion for writing to explode, with nearly 1,000 articles to his name that have been published on the site, with his favorite articles being the ones that allow for his sense of humor to shine. Lloyd also holds fast to the belief that all of life's problems can be answered by The Simpsons, Star Wars, and/or The Lion King. You can read more about Lloyd on his website, or follow his Facebook page and join the Llama Llegion. Happy trails! In pop-culture lore, He-Man is "the most powerful man in the universe." A hero with unparalleled strength, endurance, and speed, he brandishes the indestructible Power Sword and leads the battle against Skeletor and his evil minions. But the one thing this powerful, god-like being couldn't triumph over was the Hollywood box office, which slayed the hero — or, at the very least, deemed 2026's Masters of the Universe a bomb, with a mere $113.8 million earned against a $170 million budget. (This was actually the second time that nefarious villain took out He-Man, as 1987's Masters of the Universe earned $17.3 million against a $22 million budget.) But in true superhero fashion, He-Man is back, as The-Man on Prime Video, with Masters of the Universe dominating their streaming charts. And it's better late than never. 'Masters of the Universe' Is Unabashed Fun Image via Amazon MGM Studios Don't let the box office returns fool you: Masters of the Universe is way more fun than those numbers would suggest. It rides a fine line between being a love letter to the franchise and including self-aware, in-on-the-joke allusions to the more ridiculous aspects of the lore — for example, a very funny sequence in which Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) explains how he came up with goofy monikers like Ram-Man (Jon Xue Zhang), Mekaneck (James Wilkinson), and Moss Man (Stephen Adentan). The film embraces the absurdity of it all, never pivoting to the self-seriousness that has plagued franchises like the MCU, for example. As a result, its energy is spent on simply creating an entertaining movie, one that knows it's ridiculous but doesn't care: to paraphrase fellow 1980s icon Cyndi Lauper, Masters of the Universe "just wants to have fun." And it works not only because there is a buy-in from the entire cast, but because there's an earnestness in their performances that fall just short of camp. That's best exemplified by the film's two headliners: Galitzine and Jared Leto. The former has the unenviable task of creating a character from another world who has to exist in ours. His He-Man must stay steadfast in his assertions about being from another world in the face of open derision, and progress naturally from being someone who marvels at his own mighty powers to one who grasps the responsibility that comes with them. And he nails it, bringing the naivety and wide-eyed innocence of Adam on Earth and the self-assured steadfastness of Adam/He-Man on Eternia. The latter, meanwhile, has the task of voicing Skeletor, who exists in the film as a brilliant CGI creation (the scenes where Skeletor enters He-Man's mind are worth the price of admission alone). It's deceptively simple, with subtle, tricky nuances that balance malevolence with a tone designed to be non-threatening (and not cause any bed-wetting nightmares in younger viewers). That Leto manages to achieve that, while respecting those that came before him, is exceptional. Coupled with some wonderfully choreographed battle scenes and a fully-realized recreation of the world of Eternia, Masters of the Universe is a big, fun film that literally everyone can enjoy. The Success of ‘Masters of the Universe’ on Streaming Is All Part of the Plan In a statement released following the opening weekend of Masters of the Universe, which debuted at No. 2 with an underwhelming $54 million, Amazon MGM's domestic distribution chief, Kevin Wilson, had this to say: “[Director] Travis Knight and the entire cast and filmmaking team have delivered something truly special, and this opening is exactly the kind of critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy—building awareness and engagement that will carry well beyond the theatrical window.” At the time, it sounded like trying to make lemonade out of lemons, but the streaming success of Masters of the Universe would seemingly make the quote instead seem prophetic. And at least one person, Jonathan Klotz of Giant Freakin Robot, backs up Wilson's rationale, saying how the positive press around the film all but ensured a massive streaming debut, which in turn means "there’s no sharing revenue with movie theaters, no arguing with foreign distributors, only subscribers to their own streaming service.” That could be true — or it could just be that people are looking for a family-friendly movie that simply doesn't suck. But it doesn't change the success the film is finding on Prime Video. And if we're looking for other positives, Leto distancing himself from the movie and his role in it may very well end up being the very best thing that could have happened. All things considered, the movie's streaming success may very well pay off with what the after-credits scene teased: Princess Adora, aka She-Ra, either in a standalone project, or in a sequel. Will it happen? Hard to say, but if He-Man can emerge unscathed from the Hollywood box office, anything's possible. By the power of Grayskull, indeed.