Dear Travis Knight: The box office barometer shows that your "something truly special" registered a "brutal" 71% drop in week 2. Best, Retiring Guy

 

AI-generated image:  Manus 1.6 Lite

Headline:  Variety, 6/14/2027 (highlight added)

Last week Rebecca Rubin reported on director Travis Knight's upbeat outlook for the box office success of Masters of the Universe:

In a statement, Amazon MGM’s domestic distribution chief, Kevin Wilson, repeated a similar sentiment about using a different barometer for success than rivals. 

“[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.”

 

This week she offers a reality check for Travis.

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, last weekend’s newcomers, Paramount’s horror parody “Scary Movie” and Amazon MGM’s toy adaptation “Masters of the Universe,” each suffered a brutal 70% decline in their sophomore outings.  

[snip] 

“Masters of the Universe,” on the other hand, will have a harder time justifying its mega price tag. The sword-and-planet adventure dropped to No. 5 with $8.6 million from 3,677 locations. It has earned just $45.7 million in North America and $84 million worldwide and, against a nearly $200 million production budget, will leave theaters as one of the year’s biggest bombs. “Masters of the Universe” is based on the ’80s Mattel toy and cartoon, and this kind of turnout suggests the movie isn’t expanding beyond the core fanbase of older males. [emphasis added]