Although Masters of the Universe received mostly positive reviews, the film majorly underperformed at the box office, grossing just $114 million worldwide on a $170 million budget to become a certified box office bomb. Not great, but the film’s streaming launch on Prime Video was a huge success, generating more than 1 billion minutes viewed during its first week.
Despite the streaming success, Masters of the Universe director Travis Knight believes the film deserved more.
Travis Knight on Masters of the Universe
“Its life on streaming was much more important to Amazon than its life in the theaters,” Knight told THR. “It’s not something I understood going into it. I wanted their faith in us as filmmakers and in the movie to be rewarded in a way that wasn’t to my hopes and expectations. The film deserved a better fate than it got, but I’ve made peace with it.“
Studios are typically hesitant to greenlight a sequel to a box office bomb, but the film’s success on streaming means a follow-up isn’t outside the realm of possibility. In a separate interview with ScreenRant, Knight commented on the chances of a sequel.
“These things are out of our control,” he said. “It was such a joy making that movie, I had so much fun working with that team. We had so much fun, and I think that comes through in the experience of watching the movie. In the end, these sorts of decisions are out of our control, you always imagine where these people’s lives go after the end of the movie, and if the universe, in its wisdom, asks us to make more of these things, we would be delighted to give them more. But, in the end, that’s out of our control, which is why every single movie you make, you put everything you have into it, and you just hope that the movie lives on its own and finds connection with the people you’re trying to reach.“
I wasn’t really expecting much going into Masters of the Universe, but I was surprised by how much fun I had. Is it the best film ever made? Not quite, but I’m definitely open to seeing more adventures in Eternia.
Wildwood
Knight is back in the animated realm with Wildwood, an epic dark fantasy which follows a teenage girl named Prue and her classmate Curtis as they travel into an enchanted forest in search of her infant brother, Mac, after he is abducted.
The film has received widespread acclaim, and our own Steve Seigh absolutely loved it, calling it “nothing short of a cinematic miracle.” You can check out the rest of his review right here. Wildwood will be officially released on October 23.
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