The Amazon MGM title, starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, debuted on the streaming service July 22 — less than two weeks after its theatrical premiere. Its streaming dominance offers a stark contrast to its theatrical performance, where it grossed just under $114 million worldwide against a $170 million production budget.
A Two-Horse Billion-Minute Race
Masters of the Universe was one of only two titles to cross the billion-minute threshold during the measured week. The other was The Big Bang Theory, which continues to shatter its own records on HBO Max with 1.12 billion minutes viewed — an all-time high for the sitcom for the second consecutive week, up from the prior frame’s 1.08 billion.
The enduring popularity of the Chuck Lorre-created comedy underscores how library titles remain formidable competitors for streaming platforms, even against big-budget original films with built-in brand recognition.
Original Titles Battle for Position
Among original programming, Will Ferrell’s Netflix comedy The Hawk led the field with 944 million minutes, though it slipped slightly from the previous week. Close behind was Prime Video’s action comedy Ride or Die, starring Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham, which climbed roughly 6 percent to 922 million minutes.
Netflix’s Kevin Hart vehicle 72 Hours landed a solid second place behind Masters of the Universe on the movies top 10, posting 791 million minutes in its premiere week.
Familiar Titles Return to the Rankings
The premiere of King of the Hill’s 15th season propelled the animated series back onto the charts with 658 million minutes, roughly 461 million of which — about 70 percent — came from the new batch of episodes. Netflix’s Ransom Canyon also resurfaced in the rankings, drawing 751 million minutes on the strength of its second-season debut.
Nielsen’s streaming ratings measure viewing on television sets only and exclude minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The figures also reflect U.S. audiences exclusively, meaning global consumption of titles like Masters of the Universe is likely substantially higher.
What Happens Next
The strong streaming debut of Masters of the Universe will fuel ongoing industry debate about theatrical-to-streaming windows and whether big-budget tentpoles are better served by shorter cinema runs. With a $170 million budget and underwhelming theatrical receipts, Amazon MGM will be watching closely whether the Prime Video performance translates into subscriber retention and acquisition in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, The Big Bang Theory’s record-breaking streak on HBO Max raises fresh questions about the long-term licensing value of legacy sitcoms as Warner Bros. Discovery weighs its streaming strategy. Expect next week’s Nielsen data to show whether Masters of the Universe can sustain its billion-minute momentum or whether it follows the typical post-debut decline pattern seen across most streaming premieres.
— Lucas Berg, entertainment desk, AXO News