After 'barbie' Success, Mattel Looks To He-man For Another Box-office Lift

Three years ago, Mattel Inc. struck box-office golden — aliases rather, pinkish — pinch nan billion-dollar success of “Barbie.”

In its first return to theaters since nan female-forward phenomenon, nan El Segundo toymaker is turning to nan brawny He-Man for different box-office lift.

Its latest film, “Masters of nan Universe,” opens this weekend, arsenic Mattel looks to build connected that erstwhile occurrence and proceed extending its signature artifact brands into nan intermezo arena.

“The movie is very overmuch successful tune pinch culture,” said Mattel Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz. “Everything is overmuch much modern comparative to what was created much than 40 years ago, but it’s still very existent to nan root communicative and to nan DNA of nan brand.”

The caller movie arrives astatine a pivotal clip for Mattel, which is facing unit from investors to turn its business. The shaper of Hot Wheels, American Girl and Uno has precocious confronted a challenging marketplace for toys, beset by tariffs connected equipment produced overseas and weaker-than-expected request for Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price preschool products.

Amid uncertainty successful nan artifact marketplace and nan fallout from tariffs, Mattel’s nett income dropped 25% to $398 cardinal successful 2025. And since nan institution announced disappointing vacation income totals successful February, its banal has dropped much than 30%, closing astatine $14.34 connected Wednesday.

“Masters of nan Universe” toys astatine Mattel office successful El Segundo.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The stock value descent prompted investor Southeastern Asset Management to send a missive past period to Mattel leadership suggesting nan artifact shaper should waste itself and spell private. Southeastern manages astir 4% of nan company’s banal connected behalf of its clients.

“The vexation among investors has been nan truth that if you look astatine nan business from 2021 done 2025 and moreover this twelvemonth ... nan business really hasn’t grown,” said Eric Handler, a Roth Capital elder media and intermezo analyst, referring to Mattel. “This is simply a institution that needed thing caller successful nan portfolio, and there’s a wide scope of investments being made, of which ‘Masters of nan Universe’ is 1 part.”

Kreiz pushed backmost connected nan thought that nan institution is not growing. In nan 4th fourth of 2025, nett income were up 7% to $1.8 billion, though nan consequence was not arsenic beardown arsenic nan institution expected.

Mattel has spent $1.2 cardinal successful nan past 3 years to bargain backmost shares, pinch an further $1.5-billion stock repurchase planned for nan adjacent 3 years.

“We’re investing successful our ain banal because we judge it is undervalued,” he told The Times successful an question and reply astatine his office, which has floor-to-ceiling windows that springiness an expansive position of El Segundo. “We perfectly work together that nan stock value doesn’t bespeak nan advancement that we’ve achieved complete nan past fewer years financially, operationally, our spot successful culture, nan spot of our brands, and nan continued description of nan business. And much importantly, nan imaginable that we person down nan road.”

“Masters of nan Universe” is simply a cardinal adaptable successful that equation.

Ynon Kreiz, main executive of Mattel.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The movie, which had a fund of astir $170 million, is expected to bring successful $25 cardinal to $35 cardinal successful nan U.S. and Canada during its debut weekend. That’s a acold outcry from nan $162-million opening haul of “Barbie,” but box-office analysts opportunity that movie captured nan taste zeitgeist successful a measurement that’s difficult to replicate.

The ‘80s-era “Masters of nan Universe” is “a spot that was celebrated pinch a definite group of fans, but it hasn’t had overmuch of a popular civilization presence,” said Shawn Robbins, who directs movie analytics astatine Fandango and founded nan forecasting tract Box Office Theory. The movie has notched a respectable 74% support standing from critics connected aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

“There’s been truthful galore callbacks to nostalgic franchises,” he said. “Some group are ever connected committee for them, and possibly nan affirmative reviews bring group successful who were connected nan fence. But group are besides fresh for thing caller and caller and exciting.”

Kreiz said he’s often asked really nan institution will lucifer nan occurrence of “Barbie.”

“The reply is, we don’t request to lucifer ‘Barbie’s’ occurrence for movies to person a meaningful economical effect connected nan company,” he said. “Not each movie will beryllium ‘Barbie.’ If we create value contented that group want to watch and create value experiences that group are engaged with, bully things happen, and these brands will resonate and will beryllium present for years to come.”

While theatrical gross is important, nan measurement of occurrence for “Masters of nan Universe” could besides see its eventual reception connected streaming platforms and, of course, artifact sales, analysts said.

There are hundreds of products tied to nan movie, from collectible action figures of Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man and Camila Mendes’ Teela, to branded Uno decks, Legos, clothing and skateboards.

Skeletor from “Masters of nan Universe.”

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

“For us, it’s a immense triumph already,” said Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Studios and main contented officer, who besides served arsenic a shaper connected nan film. “We person reinvigorated and relaunched this marque that has been astir for decades ... and done it successful a measurement pinch conscionable nan best-in-class toys. Obviously that’s our breadstuff and butter. And past to person made an epic, unthinkable movie ... is simply a immense win.”

While Mattel does not yet person income totals for its “Masters of nan Universe” toys, executives said during an net telephone successful precocious April that merchandise income were “growing double digits” amid beardown customer demand, peculiarly from adults.

When Kreiz was named CEO successful 2018, he saw nan imaginable for Mattel to grow beyond toys. In an intermezo scenery dominated by known franchises and intelligence property, nan erstwhile TV and media executive wanted to leverage nan company’s IP successful caller ways to pull consumers.

Hence, Mattel has expanded into real-world experiences specified arsenic a Barbie pop-up astatine Coachella aliases a walking Hot Wheels monster motortruck show. In February, nan institution afloat acquired Mattel163 mobile crippled workplace aft buying retired a liking held by Chinese tech patient NetEase. The workplace has released games based connected Uno, Skip-Bo and different Mattel intelligence property.

And connected nan movie and tv front, nan Mattel Studios section now has 51 group — astir of whom are based successful El Segundo — focused connected projects crossed platforms.

After “Masters of nan Universe,” Mattel Studios plans to merchandise a “Matchbox” streaming movie successful October. The section has much than a twelve films successful improvement that person been announced, including an American Girl movie pinch Paramount, Polly Pocket pinch Amazon MGM Studios, arsenic good arsenic a live-action Magic 8 Ball bid from M. Night Shyamalan.

“The travel for nan institution was to germinate from being a artifact shaper that was making items to go an IP institution that is managing franchises,” Kreiz said. “It’s not that we’re not creating toys — it’s evidently a large portion of our business — but nan opportunity is to grow truthful overmuch much than nan beingness product.”

“Masters of nan Universe” was successful improvement for years astatine respective different studios earlier it was picked up by Amazon MGM.

That business stemmed from Mattel’s activity connected nan “Barbie” movie pinch Courtenay Valenti, past president of accumulation and improvement astatine Warner Bros. Pictures who is now caput of movie astatine Amazon MGM.

“Masters of nan Universe” felt for illustration a bully spot for Mattel to stake connected because of its nostalgia facet and heavy chair of colorful characters, from nan greenish tiger Battle Cat to nan heavy armored Ram Man and ever meme-able Skeletor, which nan institution hopes will pull caller audiences, Brenner said.

The movie is directed by Travis Knight — main executive of stop-motion workplace Laika who besides led nan 2018 “Transformers” spin-off “Bumblebee” — who Brenner said “nailed” nan narrative’s tone. (It didn’t wounded that Knight was already a instrumentality of nan franchise and had sported nan He-Man haircut arsenic a child.)

“It’s a spot that’s benignant of retired there,” said Brenner, who grew up watching He-Man and his copy sister She-Ra. “It’s sewage each these crazy characters. But conscionable riding that statement betwixt what is funny and benignant of irreverent and past benignant of heartfelt, that is simply a very difficult point to put successful a blender and to get right.”