Just a couple of weeks ago (here), I reported that, despite the poor box office performance, Amazon was happy with how Masters of the Universe was received, and a sequel was still looking very likely because the movie was delivering on the merchandise front and the pre-orders for the home release were massive, plus it’ll be a big hit on Amazon’s streaming service.
Well, it seems I was spot on.
While the movie was outperformed by low-budget horror outings The Back Rooms and Obsession, and seems like it, theatrically, could be looking at a $200m loss, Forbes is reporting that Amazon/MGM see streaming on Prime TV as the place where the movie will truly shine and that the theartical release was never the deal breaker for the frnchise: ‘As the popularity of streaming surged during the pandemic, so too did the number of platforms which caused household spending on the services to soar. It explains why adults tend to be in charge of streaming subscriptions and they are the audience that is most interested in Masters of the Universe.’
Tidbit:
The first episode of Mattel’s new Masters of the Universe animated series has hit YouTube, and you can watch it here.
He-Man has no problems with training to defeat Skeletor. But if he’s going to lead Eternia, he has to become Prince Adam and be strong without the sword as well.
They go on to report that children under 12 only made up about 4% of the audience, but, despite seeming to be a movie, on paper at least, made for kids, they were never the target audience, with the over 35s making up a collective 93%, meaning they were all cramming to see a movie that perfectly represented what they loved about the 1980s animated series.
The movie hints at several things for future adventures, including Adam/He-Man’s twin sister Adora/She-Ra and the return of Skeletor, so it seems that Amazon, right from the start, was looking at a franchise, with director Travis Knight saying: “this movie stands on its own two feet. It tells a story from beginning to end. I think it has a satisfying conclusion. And yet there is a world that exists outside the frame of the film.”
Amazon/MGM happy with Masters of the Universe performance… more to come?
Add to this, as I previously reported, Amazon MGM Studios’ domestic distribution chief Kevin Wilson saying: The passionate, multigenerational audience response we’re seeing around the world has been fantastic… 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.”
Beyond the theatrical window, being on streaming and on shop shelves.
Tom Forte, media analyst at Maxim Group, explains: “[Amazon] is focused on the long term and building a large business and willing to invest and lose money, on a short- and near-term basis.
Amazon is playing the long game here. To the extent these tentpole efforts increase its ability to be, ultimately, successful they should be deemed risky, but successful initiatives.”
FIRST LOOK: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe tie-in comic and books revealed
And that’s exactly where He-Man and the Masters of the Universe comes in.
Tellingly, Amazon didn’t release Masters of the Universe in France at all. Why? Because if it got a theatrical release there, French law means that the movie can’t be streamed for at least 17 months, and Amazon wants this on their platform much quicker than that… my money is on it being a Christmas release on the platform, and according to Forbes: ‘By that time, Masters of the Universe will be old news and a sequel may already be well into production so Amazon doesn’t want French subscribers to have to wait that long.’
All this is to say that ultimately, Amazon’s eye isn’t just on box office but its home streaming is priority number one. Does this mean we’ll see the sequel, should it happen, going straight to streaming? Hard to know at this stage, though, if it catches on on streaming as they hope, then putting the sequel on the big screen in a few years could be easy money.
Anyway, Masters of the Universe 2? Thoughts? I know you have them and I wanna hear ’em all.
Gina Carano ‘has had talks’ with Filoni and Favreau… Cara Dune returning to Star Wars?
Source: Forbes
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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