Masters of the Universe (film)

Masters of the Universe
Official poster of the film
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Goddard[1]
Written byDavid Odell
Based on
Masters of the Universe
by
Produced byYoram Globus
Menahem Golan
Starring
CinematographyHanania Baer
Edited byAnne V. Coates
Music byBill Conti
Production
company
Distributed byThe Cannon Group, Inc.[2]
Release date
  • August 7, 1987 (1987-08-07)
Running time
106 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22 million[4]
Box office$17.3 million[5]

Masters of the Universe (stylized as Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture) is a 1987 American superhero film based on the Masters of the Universe franchise by Mattel. The film was directed by Gary Goddard, produced by Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan, and written by David Odell. It stars Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Jon Cypher, Chelsea Field, Billy Barty, Courteney Cox, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Meg Foster. The film follows two teenagers who meet He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, who travels to Earth with his friends to stop their archenemy, the evil Skeletor from obtaining a cosmic key that will enable him to take over their home planet of Eternia and the entire universe.

Masters of the Universe was released theatrically in the United States on August 7, 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $17 million worldwide against a budget of $22 million. At the time of release, it was met with negative reviews from film critics, but is now regarded as a cult film.[6][7][8] On May 1, 2024 a second live-action film was announced to be directed by Travis Knight and will be released on June 5, 2026.[9]

  1. ^ "'Masters' A Lesson In More Thrills For Less". Chicago Tribune. August 13, 1987. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  2. ^ "Weekend Box Office". The Los Angeles Times. August 11, 1987. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  3. ^ "Masters of the Universe (1987)". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. September 16, 1987. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference spy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Masters of the Universe". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. July 12, 2014. Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 19, 2015). "'Thor: Ragnarok' Scribe to Pen 'Masters of the Universe' for Sony". Variety. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2016. spawned a movie... that subsequently became a cult hit
  7. ^ Miller, Leon (September 3, 2017). "Masters Of The Universe: 15 Shocking Things You Didn't Know About The Movie". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2017. it's since gone on to become a cult classic
  8. ^ Colburnon, Randall (April 28, 2017). "Believe it or not, a Masters of the Universe reboot is slated for a 2019 release". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2017. the colossal flop turned campy cult classic that was 1987's Masters of the Universe
  9. ^ https://x.com/hollywoodhandle/status/1785863888807854258. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)