One Of 2026's Biggest Box Office Bombs Is Finally Finding An Audience On Prime Video

I can't help but feel sorry for this year's "Masters of the Universe." A live-action movie based on the 1980s-born Mattel multimedia property, it's a film that spent years stuck in development hell and changed homes — and directors — many times over throughout pre-production. So, by the time it finally made it to theaters, the '80s nostalgia fad had roundly worn out its welcome. It also didn't help that it had cast box office poison Jared Leto as its roided-out big bad, Skeletor ... although that specific wound was, admittedly, self-inflicted.

The end result: "Masters of the Universe" bombed hard at the box office and is assuredly going to go down as one of the biggest flops of 2026. At the same time, because it's an Amazon MGM Studios release, there was always a chance it would enjoy a second life upon hitting Amazon's streaming service Prime Video. Sure enough, that's exactly what appears to be happening, with FlixPatrol reporting that "Masters of the Universe" was quick to crack the platform's current top five most-watched movies in the vast majority of countries worldwide (the United States included) following its debut on Wednesday, July 22. And you know what? It deserves to.

As directed by Travis Knight, who also worked his magic on another toyetic property birthed in the '80s with the 2018 "Transformers" spin-off "Bumblebee," 2026's "Masters of the Universe" movie isn't just some calculated nostalgia play. More than an excuse to yet again watch franchise lead Prince Adam/He-Man (Nicolas Galitzine) pummel Skeletor (as he is wont to do), it's a film that wants to have an earnest conversation about masculinity and acknowledges that there's no one right way of being manly. Like the men of Earth and Adam's home of Eternia alike, "Masters of the Universe" can occasionally stumble over its words, but it's so sincere in this regard that you can't but pat the big lug on the back all the same.

It's equally hard not to appreciate the movie's flamboyant colors and loving nods to He-Man memes and cartoon series past, especially when compared to the desaturated, ironic IP slop that Hollywood has been shoveling out for years. Even the canon reason it comes up with for the silly character names in the "Masters of the Universe" property (which I won't give away here) works better than you might expect after so many similar jokes in superhero movies released over the past decade and change. Ultimately, the whole thing manages to be chintzy yet expensive looking, considerate yet juvenile, and a crowd-pleaser yet personal all at once. It captures the ethos of a good, old-fashioned Saturday morning cartoon, that's what I'm getting at.

Oh, and Daniel Pemberton's guitar-shredding score rocks, too. See for yourself by joining the cool kids and streaming "Masters of the Universe" on Prime Video.