IMAX boots Mandalorian and Grogu for Masters of the Universe?
IMAX has added Masters of the Universe to its June 5 release slate in a surprise late addition, breaking Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s reported three-week exclusive lock on the premium format. That is a blunt signal about how Disney’s latest Star Wars movie is performing, and the mechanics of how it happened make the story even crazier.
The He-Man reboot was not originally scheduled for IMAX at all. Amazon MGM’s pre-release press materials, including the official Prime Video studio page and the Mattel Films announcement, only listed the film for “regular and Dolby theaters.” The June 5 IMAX deal is a late add. The official IMAX and Masters of the Universe social accounts announced it on May 29-30, 2026, just a week before release.
What actually changed
The Mandalorian and Grogu had a previously reported exclusive IMAX lock running roughly three weeks from its May 22 opening, which would have given it premium-format screens through approximately June 12. Under that arrangement, Masters of the Universe would have had to wait until at least mid-June to access IMAX, well past its June 5 opening weekend.
On May 30, IMAX announced Masters of the Universe would get IMAX screens starting with early access on June 3 and a full wide release on June 5. The official IMAX account posted, “The chase for Power begins. Tickets are on sale now for Masters of the Universe, in IMAX June 5.” The film’s official account followed. “By the Power of Grayskull… Masters of the Universe will be available in IMAX June 5. Get tickets now.”
The IMAX-exclusive poster features Nicholas Galitzine‘s He-Man piloting a Sky Sled while pursued by Skeletor‘s buzzsaw-like Roton vehicles.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is still on IMAX. It is no longer the exclusive holder of those screens. Industry tracker Luiz Fernando confirmed the domestic IMAX shift on social media, and ComicBook.com framed the move as IMAX coming “on top of” the existing Masters of the Universe release plan. The exclusive that Disney had through mid-June has effectively been compressed to two weeks plus shared inventory afterward.
Why this happened
The reason was not officially stated by IMAX or Amazon MGM. The industry consensus is that it is a combination of two converging trends. Mandalorian and Grogu underperforming. And Masters of the Universe generating better-than-expected critical and audience reactions.
The Disney numbers tell the soft-side story.
The Mandalorian and Grogu opened to $82 million over its three-day weekend and $98 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame, plus another $69 million internationally for a global start of roughly $167 million. That is the lowest opening for any live-action Star Wars film in the Disney era.
In its second weekend, the film is projected to drop roughly 69%, landing in the $24 to $30 million range. That would put it in third place behind Obsession, the $750,000 horror film from YouTuber Curry Barker that has already beaten Star Wars on weekdays, and Backrooms, the $10 million A24 release from 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons tracking for $76 to $79 million opening weekend, which would more than triple A24’s previous opening record.
The Disney film also lost the daily top spot to Obsession on weekdays last week. When a Star Wars film is being outperformed by a sub-$1 million horror movie on individual days and out-opened by a $10 million one, IMAX deciding to share premium-format inventory with a He-Man reboot is not surprising. It is the kind of decision exhibitors make when the math is obvious.
Masters of the Universe is getting a real critical boost
The other half of the story is that Masters of the Universe has been generating positive buzz that improved its standing with both audiences and exhibitors.
Critics coming out of the film’s red-carpet premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on May 18 were enthusiastic, praising the cast’s performances, the witty script, and the film’s vibrant sets and costumes. The film stars Galitzine as He-Man and Prince Adam, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms, James Purefoy as King Randor, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin, and Kristen Wiig, directed by Travis Knight of Bumblebee (2018) and Kubo and the Two Strings.
Tracking has steadily climbed. Earlier projections from BoxOffice Pro pegged the opening at $32.5 million. The most recent estimates from Dark Horizons now project a $35 to $45 million domestic debut weekend on the strength of the premiere reactions and the late IMAX add.
For a film with a reported production budget of $170 to $200 million, those numbers are still modest. But the trajectory matters. Tracking that is rising in the final week before release, while marketing finds its tone and exhibitors warm to the product, is what justifies IMAX adding a late premium-format slot.
The most likely read is that IMAX, exhibitors, and Amazon MGM looked at Mandalorian and Grogu‘s second-weekend collapse, Masters of the Universe‘s positive premiere buzz, and the available premium-format inventory, and made a straightforward economic decision. IMAX screens are valuable real estate. The exclusive holder no longer justified the exclusive.
Michael getting an overseas IMAX revival is the parallel pattern
Internationally, an even more striking pattern is unfolding. Michael, the Jaafar Jackson-starring Michael Jackson biopic that opened April 24, 2026, is being returned to IMAX screens overseas more than a month into its theatrical run.
Universal Pictures India announced the return on X on May 29, 2026. “You loved it. So it’s back on popular demand. Watch Michael in IMAX and experience the magic on the big screen. Book your tickets now.”
A film that has already completed much of its theatrical run getting brought back into IMAX overseas is unusual. Studios and exhibitors typically use IMAX screens for new releases, not month-old films. The decision suggests that exhibitors in those international markets believe there is still significant audience demand for Michael, enough to justify giving it premium screen space that could otherwise be used for current releases.
Some of that space was previously held by The Mandalorian and Grogu. The film that was supposed to be Disney’s big international theatrical bet for the Star Wars franchise is sharing or losing premium screens overseas to a Michael Jackson biopic that was already winding down.
Taken together with the domestic Masters of the Universe move, the pattern is hard to spin. IMAX inventory is being reallocated on multiple continents, in favor of films exhibitors think will draw more paying customers.
Masters of the Universe still has a hard road
Even with the IMAX boost, Masters of the Universe faces a difficult opening weekend.
It opens against Scary Movie 6, which is tracking for $43 to $53 million per BoxOffice Pro after a viral trailer drove Paramount to move the film up one week to June 5. The R-rated comedy reunion of Marlon, Shawn, and Keenen Ivory Wayans has a “first choice” rating roughly three times that of Masters of the Universe in key demos.
The June 5 weekend also still has to contend with Backrooms in its second frame and Obsession in its third, both of which have been holding far better than typical second- and third-weekend declines suggest. Horror is the dominant force at the box office right now, with audiences under 35 driving most of the energy. Masters of the Universe is targeting an older nostalgia audience that is no longer the default theatrical demo.
Jared Leto‘s recent box office history adds pressure. Morbius (2022) and Haunted Mansion (2023) both underperformed. Leto has also been mostly absent from the Masters of the Universe press tour, which industry observers have linked to ongoing concerns about his commercial appeal and unrelated allegations.
What this says about Star Wars right now
Losing an exclusive IMAX lock this quickly is never a good sign for a major franchise release. The fact that the film breaking the lock is a He-Man reboot whose previous theatrical incarnation in 1987 grossed just $17.3 million in unadjusted dollars, is the kind of detail that historians of the franchise will probably revisit.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is not a total disaster. It opened to nearly $100 million and has a built-in fanbase. But it is behaving more like a soft Disney+ extension than a major theatrical event, and the people who actually book premium-format screens are responding accordingly. Disney has Star Wars: Starfighter with Ryan Gosling and Shawn Levy opening Memorial Day 2027. That film will need to land harder, and hold longer, if Lucasfilm wants to keep the kind of exclusive premium-format arrangements Mandalorian and Grogu lost ahead of schedule.
For Masters of the Universe, getting IMAX added late is genuinely helpful. It does not solve the bigger challenges. The film is entering a market where horror and comedy are currently the most reliable mid-budget draws, where its own marketing has only recently found a tone, and where its lead villain actor has been largely absent from promotion. The IMAX deal is a vote of confidence from exhibitors. Whether audiences match that confidence on June 5 is the actual test.
Both films are reminders that theatrical audiences in 2026 are selective. Big brands still matter, but they no longer guarantee strong holds or premium screen real estate if the opening weekend does not deliver. The Mandalorian and Grogu did not deliver. Masters of the Universe now has IMAX screens it was never supposed to get. The 2026 theatrical year has been one structural surprise after another, and the pattern keeps pointing in the same direction.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Collider, May 30, 2026 reporting on IMAX adding Masters of the Universe and the disruption to The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s exclusive three-week lock
ComicBook.com, May 30, 2026 framing of the IMAX deal as a surprise late addition “on top of” the previously announced regular and Dolby release
Dark Horizons, updated Masters of the Universe domestic tracking at $35 to $45 million and confirmation of the 69% second-weekend drop projection for The Mandalorian and Grogu
IMAX official X account and Masters of the Universe official X account, verified May 29-30, 2026 announcement posts
Amazon MGM Studios press release and the official Prime Video studio page on Masters of the Universe, confirming the original release plan did not include IMAX
Mattel Films March 2026 release-date announcement
Universal Pictures India official X account, May 29, 2026 announcement of Michael returning to international IMAX screens “on popular demand”
BoxOffice Pro (May 2026) earlier Masters of the Universe tracking projections at $32.5 million and Scary Movie 6 tracking at $43 to $53 million
Deadline and World of Reel, second-weekend projections for The Mandalorian and Grogu and Memorial Day weekend box office context
Wikipedia and Variety, Masters of the Universe 2026 production background, cast, and budget reporting