{"id":2444521,"date":"2026-06-04T10:26:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2444521"},"modified":"2026-06-04T10:26:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:26:05","slug":"after-barbie-success-mattel-looks-to-he-man-for-another-box-office-lift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/after-barbie-success-mattel-looks-to-he-man-for-another-box-office-lift\/","title":{"rendered":"After ‘Barbie’ success, Mattel looks to He-Man for another box-office lift"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Three years ago, Mattel Inc. struck box-office gold \u2014 or rather, pink \u2014 with the billion-dollar success of \u201cBarbie.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

In its first return to theaters since the female-forward phenomenon, the El Segundo toymaker is turning to the brawny He-Man for another box-office lift. <\/p>\n

Its latest film, \u201cMasters of the Universe,\u201d opens this weekend, as Mattel looks to build on that previous success and continue extending its signature toy brands into the entertainment arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe movie is very much in tune with culture,\u201d said Mattel Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz. \u201cEverything is much more contemporary relative to what was created more than 40 years ago, but it\u2019s still very true to the origin story and to the DNA of the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new film arrives at a pivotal time for Mattel, which is facing pressure from investors to grow its business. The maker of Hot Wheels, American Girl and Uno has recently confronted a challenging market for toys,<\/a> beset by tariffs on goods produced overseas and weaker-than-expected demand for Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price preschool products.<\/p>\n

Amid uncertainty in the toy market and the fallout from tariffs, Mattel\u2019s net income dropped 25% to $398 million in 2025. And since the company announced disappointing holiday sales totals in February, its stock has dropped more than 30%, closing at $14.34 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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<\/picture>\n
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\u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d toys at Mattel headquarters in El Segundo.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The share price slide prompted investor Southeastern Asset Management to send a letter last month to Mattel leadership<\/a> suggesting the toy maker should sell itself and go private. Southeastern manages about 4% of the company\u2019s stock on behalf of its clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe frustration among investors has been the fact that if you look at the business from 2021 through 2025 and even this year … the business really hasn\u2019t grown,\u201d said Eric Handler, a Roth Capital senior media and entertainment analyst, referring to Mattel. \u201cThis is a company that needed something fresh in the portfolio, and there\u2019s a wide range of investments being made, of which \u2018Masters of the Universe\u2019 is one part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreiz pushed back on the idea that the company is not growing. In the fourth quarter of 2025, net sales were up 7% to $1.8 billion, though the result was not as strong as the company expected. <\/p>\n

Mattel has spent $1.2 billion in the last three years to buy back shares, with an additional $1.5-billion share repurchase planned for the next three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re investing in our own stock because we believe it is undervalued,\u201d he told The Times in an interview at his office, which has floor-to-ceiling windows that give an expansive view of El Segundo. \u201cWe absolutely agree that the share price doesn\u2019t reflect the progress that we\u2019ve achieved over the last few years financially, operationally, our place in culture, the strength of our brands, and the continued expansion of the business. And more importantly, the potential that we have down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d is a key variable in that equation.<\/p>\n

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\"Ynon <\/picture>\n
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Ynon Kreiz, chief executive of Mattel.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The movie, which had a budget of roughly $170 million, is expected to bring in $25 million to $35 million in the U.S. and Canada during its debut weekend. That\u2019s a far cry from the $162-million opening haul of \u201cBarbie,\u201d but box-office analysts say that film captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way that\u2019s hard to replicate.<\/p>\n

The \u201880s-era \u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d is \u201ca property that was famous with a certain group of fans, but it hasn\u2019t had much of a pop culture presence,\u201d said Shawn Robbins, who directs movie analytics at Fandango and founded the forecasting site Box Office Theory. The movie has notched a respectable 74% approval rating from critics on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been so many callbacks to nostalgic franchises,\u201d he said. \u201cSome people are always on board for them, and maybe the positive reviews bring people in who were on the fence. But people are also ready for something fresh and new and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreiz said he\u2019s often asked how the company will match the success of \u201cBarbie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer is, we don\u2019t need to match \u2018Barbie\u2019s\u2019 success for movies to have a meaningful economic impact on the company,\u201d he said. \u201cNot every movie will be \u2018Barbie.\u2019 If we create quality content that people want to watch and create quality experiences that people are engaged with, good things happen, and these brands will resonate and will be here for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

While theatrical revenue is important, the measure of success for \u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d could also include its eventual reception on streaming platforms and, of course, toy sales, analysts said.<\/p>\n

There are hundreds of products tied to the movie, from collectible action figures of Nicholas Galitzine\u2019s He-Man and Camila Mendes\u2019 Teela, to branded Uno decks, Legos, clothing and skateboards.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Skeletor <\/picture>\n
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Skeletor from \u201cMasters of the Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cFor us, it\u2019s a huge win already,\u201d said Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Studios and chief content officer, who also served as a producer on the film. \u201cWe have reinvigorated and relaunched this brand that has been around for decades … and done it in a way with just the best-in-class toys. Obviously that\u2019s our bread and butter. And then to have made an epic, incredible movie … is a huge win.\u201d <\/p>\n

While Mattel does not yet have sales totals for its \u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d toys, executives said during an earnings call in late April that product sales were \u201cgrowing double digits\u201d amid strong customer demand, particularly from adults.<\/p>\n

When Kreiz<\/a> was named CEO in 2018, he saw the potential for Mattel to expand beyond toys. In an entertainment landscape dominated by known franchises and intellectual property, the former TV and media executive wanted to leverage the company\u2019s IP in new ways to attract consumers.<\/p>\n

Hence, Mattel has expanded into real-world experiences such as a Barbie pop-up at Coachella or a traveling Hot Wheels monster truck show. In February, the company fully acquired Mattel163 mobile game studio after buying out a stake held by Chinese tech firm NetEase. The studio has released games based on Uno, Skip-Bo and other Mattel intellectual property.<\/p>\n

And on the film and television front, the Mattel Studios division now has 51 people \u2014 most of whom are based in El Segundo \u2014 focused on projects across platforms.<\/p>\n

After \u201cMasters of the Universe,\u201d Mattel Studios plans to release a \u201cMatchbox\u201d streaming movie in October. The division has more than a dozen films in development that have been announced, including an American Girl movie with Paramount, Polly Pocket with Amazon MGM Studios, as well as a live-action Magic 8 Ball series from M. Night Shyamalan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe journey for the company was to evolve from being a toy manufacturer that was making items to become an IP company that is managing franchises,\u201d Kreiz said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that we\u2019re not creating toys \u2014 it\u2019s obviously a big part of our business \u2014 but the opportunity is to expand so much more than the physical product.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d was in development for years at several different studios before it was picked up by Amazon MGM.<\/p>\n

That partnership stemmed from Mattel\u2019s work on the \u201cBarbie\u201d movie with Courtenay Valenti, then president of production and development at Warner Bros. Pictures who is now head of film at Amazon MGM.<\/p>\n

\u201cMasters of the Universe\u201d felt like a good property for Mattel to bet on because of its nostalgia factor and deep bench of colorful characters, from the green tiger Battle Cat to the heavily armored Ram Man and ever meme-able Skeletor, which the company hopes will attract new audiences, Brenner said.<\/p>\n

The movie is directed by Travis Knight \u2014 chief executive of stop-motion studio Laika who also led the 2018 \u201cTransformers\u201d spin-off \u201cBumblebee\u201d \u2014 who Brenner said \u201cnailed\u201d the narrative\u2019s tone. (It didn\u2019t hurt that Knight was already a fan of the franchise and had sported the He-Man haircut as a child.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a property that\u2019s kind of out there,\u201d said Brenner, who grew up watching He-Man and his twin sister She-Ra. \u201cIt\u2019s got all these crazy characters. But just riding that line between what is funny and kind of irreverent and then kind of heartfelt, that is a very hard thing to put in a blender and to get right.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three years ago, Mattel Inc. struck box-office gold \u2014 or rather, pink \u2014 with the billion-dollar success of \u201cBarbie.\u201d In its first return to theaters since the female-forward phenomenon, the El Segundo toymaker is turning to the brawny He-Man for another box-office lift. Its latest film, \u201cMasters of the Universe,\u201d opens this weekend, as Mattel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2444522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2444521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/After-Barbie-success-Mattel-looks-to-He-Man-for-another-box-office.com2F272F012Fab933d644947b342217641c5.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2444521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2444523,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444521\/revisions\/2444523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2444522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2444521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2444521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2444521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}