The new live-action film, *Masters of the Universe*, is reportedly off to a challenging start at the box office, with projections indicating a soft opening weekend.

This development could influence Amazon MGM Studios' streaming release strategy for the film, potentially diverging from its typical approach for theatrical releases.

Starring Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man and Jared Leto as Skeletor, the movie is the second live-action adaptation of the He-Man saga, following the 1987 film.

The cast also includes Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms Duncan, Camila Mendes as Teela, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, and Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress.

Travis Knight directed the film.

Initial box office forecasts place *Masters of the Universe*'s opening weekend take at approximately $30.1 million, securing a second-place finish domestically behind *Scary Movie*.

This figure is considered soft, especially when weighed against the film's reported production budget of $200 million, which does not include marketing costs.

This financial context is significant because it suggests the film has a substantial amount to recoup.

Amazon MGM Studios typically releases its theatrical films on its Prime Video SVOD platform within 41 to 47 days of their cinema debut.

This differs from many other studios that often opt for premium video on demand (PVOD) as the initial home entertainment step.

However, given the substantial budget and the film's soft opening, Amazon MGM may consider a different path for *Masters of the Universe*, possibly mirroring the PVOD debut strategy used for *Project Hail Mary*.

Previous Amazon MGM releases like *The Accountant 2* and *Crime 101*, which had production budgets of $80 million and $90 million respectively, also underperformed at the box office but had significantly less to recover.

The financial performance of *Masters of the Universe* in the coming weeks, especially with upcoming major releases like *Disclosure Day*, *Toy Story 5*, and *Supergirl*, will likely be a key factor in the studio's decision regarding its home entertainment release.