Amazon Loves Theaters — for 47 Days

Forty-seven days after Masters of the Universe opened in theaters, Amazon launched it all over again. The Prime Video release got a brand-new marketing campaign, nearly as aggressive as the one for the theatrical release, that included billboards and trailer spots. And the 140-minute movie topped Nielsen’s streaming rating charts across all streamers with 1.17 billion minutes in its first five days on the platform — the equivalent of about 8.4 million full viewings. 

The theatrical run had been less triumphant. Director Travis Knight’s reboot of the ’80s animated series grossed $114 million this past summer — not bad for a Masters of the Universe movie in 2026, but not great for a movie that cost at least $170 million to make. 

But here’s the twist: For Amazon, a box office flop doesn’t necessarily mean a movie has failed. In fact, theaters may have done exactly the job Amazon needed them to do: turn an expensive film into a streaming event.

“Its life on streaming was much more important to Amazon than its life in the theaters,” Knight said last month while promoting his animated epic Wildwood. “The film deserved a better fate than it got, but I’ve made peace with it.”

Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Amazon strikes a different tone with exhibitors. Since the behemoth acquired MGM for $8.5 billion in March 2022, it has made a multitude of promises around its theatrical ambitions. As early as the year of the merger, Amazon reportedly planned on 12 to 15 theatrical releases a year — adding up to a $1 billion annual investment. The company reaffirmed that commitment this year at CinemaCon. 

“While some of our competitors have dipped their toes in and out of the theatrical waters, for us, this isn’t a test or an experiment,” Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins told exhibitors. “Our commitment to release at least 15 films every year into your theaters is on schedule.”

On Amazon’s Q3 earnings call last week, CEO Andy Jassy flagged Prime Video as one of the areas where the company is seeing “momentum.” The service, which has more than 200 million subscribers, has become a business with revenue in the tens of billions and is now profitable on its own, he said.

Amazon’s theatrical pursuit doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon — but its SVOD windows are still mostly shorter than those at other major studios. So it’s worth asking: What role does theatrical play for Amazon? And is it a model that Netflix — now under new film and TV leadership — can emulate?