Original He-Man Dolph Lundgren Weighs In on MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE's Disappointing Box Office

The new Masters of the Universehad plenty working in its favor. Critics gave it a mostly positive reception, fans of He-Man seemed to embrace it, and Amazon put a major marketing push behind the film. Unfortunately, none of that translated into strong ticket sales.

Since opening on June 5, the live-action fantasy adventure has earned just $103 million worldwide, leaving it firmly in flop territory despite its respectable 68% Rotten Tomatoes score. While that isn't the outcome anyone involved was hoping for, the movie's theatrical performance might not be the end of the road.

Because Amazon is backing the project, there's still a chance the franchise could continue if Masters of the Universe finds a much larger audience when it lands on Prime Video.

Streaming success could ultimately carry more weight for the company than its theatrical numbers, though convincing executives to invest in another massive sequel after a financial loss won't be an easy sell.

One person who was hoping for a stronger showing was the original He-Man himself, Dolph Lundgren, who pops up in a cameo alongside the reboot's new Prince Adam, Nicholas Galitzine.

Speaking with ComicBook, Lundgren admitted he was surprised the movie didn't connect with audiences the way many expected.

"Yeah, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, everybody told me it’s going to do great," he said. "I’m not a huge believer in looking at the box office and that influencing how I feel that much emotionally about the picture. But I did think about it like, 'Oh, okay. That was strange that didn’t do better.'"

He went on to point out that Amazon certainly didn't hold back when it came to promoting the movie, saying: "And I don’t know why that is. They did a lot of marketing, they did a lot of press.

"I was part of it, some of it. I don’t know where it’s at now; I mean, I think it did fairly well overseas as well. I’m not sure what that means really."

Lundgren also offered an interesting perspective on why box office numbers don't always determine a movie's legacy. His own Masters of the Universe movie from 1987 certainly wasn't a blockbuster, yet fans have continued celebrating it for decades.

"Will Nick be signing swords for 40 years, like I have been? I don’t know. I mean, it’s hard to gauge movies by the box office as well," he added. "

Sometimes you have a huge box office hit that becomes a classic, or sometimes it makes a lot of money, but nobody cares 20 years later. And there’s also the other one, the other version where it didn’t do that well, but people care a lot, you know, 50 years later."

Plenty of movies have stumbled during their theatrical run only to find passionate audiences years later. Whether this version of Masters of the Universe joins that club remains to be seen.

As for what's next, Amazon hasn't announced any sequel plans, but the movie certainly leaves the door wide open. The ending teases a long-awaited meeting between He-Man and his sister, She-Ra, setting up an exciting direction for a follow-up if the studio decides to continue exploring Eternia.

There's also been speculation that Galitzine could be in line for even bigger franchise opportunities, with his name reportedly among those being discussed as a possible future James Bond.

Whether Masters of the Universe becomes a stepping stone toward that iconic role or eventually grows into its own long-running series will likely depend on how audiences respond once the film arrives on Prime Video.

Directed by Travis Knight, Masters of the Universe follows Prince Adam, played by Galitzine, as the legendary Sword of Power finally leads him back to Eternia after 15 years away.

He returns to find his kingdom devastated under the rule of Skeletor, played by Jared Leto. To reclaim his world, Adam joins forces with Teela, played by Camila Mendes, and Duncan, played by Idris Elba, as he embraces his destiny as He-Man.

The supporting cast includes Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, Stephen Adentan as Moss Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto.

Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters, and it will be interesting to see if its story continues once it reaches Prime Video.