So everyone was mocking Masters of the Universe this summer for being a box office bust, but as we close out the summer of 2026, something a little strange has happened: Masters of the Universe just became the most-watched thing in all of streaming this year!
So what does that mean, did everyone actually want to see He-Man but just decided to wait until they could watch it at home as part of their Prime subscription? Or is the fandom that went to see it in theaters multiple times now just leaving it stream all day long on repeat? (this one sounds possible)..
Either way, the numbers are pretty remarkable.
According to Nielsen’s U.S. streaming rankings, Masters of the Universe pulled in 1.173 BILLION minutes viewed during the week of July 20–26, putting it ahead of every movie and television series on the overall streaming chart.
HE-MAN!
The movie didn’t arrive on Prime Video until July 22, meaning it accumulated those numbers with only about five days of availability during Nielsen’s measured week.
That’s one heck of a turnaround for a movie that spent much of June being labeled a theatrical bomb that the world just scoffed at like Skeletor making a sarcastic comment to Mer-Man..
The movie finished its domestic theatrical run at roughly $65 million, and the worldwide numbers weren’t enough to make its reported production budget look particularly pretty. For weeks, the conversation surrounding Masters of the Universe wasn’t about whether there would be another movie … it was whether Hollywood had once again tried to resurrect an ’80s franchise that simply didn’t have enough life left in it.
Maybe that conversation was premature.
Because now people are watching He-Man. A LOT.
And this isn’t just one strange Nielsen week, either. Amazon’s own worldwide Prime Video rankings still had Masters of the Universe as its #1 original movie for August 10–16.
That suddenly makes the future of this franchise a lot more interesting.
No sequel has officially been announced, and obviously streaming success doesn’t automatically erase what happened at the box office. But Amazon MGM happens to own the movie, and Amazon also happens to own the streaming service where He-Man is suddenly doing enormous numbers.
So maybe the question isn’t whether Masters of the Universe deserves another $170 million theatrical gamble.
Maybe the question becomes whether Masters of the Universe 2 belongs on Prime Video.
Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned this summer, apparently people really did want to see He-Man.
They just might not have wanted to leave the house to do it.
WE HAVE THE POWER… apparently from our couches.
