Why Prime Video’s $113 Million Fantasy Epic Has Become A Global Streaming Hit



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Prime Video has seen the arrival of an exciting fantasy movie that many missed in theaters, and there are a few reasons as to why the genre film has now become such a major streaming hit. Prime Video’s movie roster features both must-watch licensed films and Prime Video Original movies that will make subscribers weep, laugh, cheer, and stay on the edge of their seats.

As happens with every streaming service, each month new releases arrive on Prime Video. They come in many different genres, but subscribers have come to show more love for certain genres over the years. One of those is the fantasy genre, which is the source of some of Prime Video’s biggest shows and movies. There is always one that comes to mind.

When talking about Prime Video and fantasy releases, it is impossible not to think about its ambitious series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The fantasy show comes with a predominantly serious tone and an action-packed adventure in a high fantasy scenario. Now, Prime Video subscribers have the opportunity to watch a different, much lighter kind of fantasy release.



















A Compendium of Enchanted Cinema
How Well Do You Know Fantasy Movies?
“Magic always comes with a price.”

🪄SpellsWingardium Leviosa

🐉BeastsHere be dragons

👑KingdomsLong live the king

QuestsThe hero’s journey

🔮MagicWhat lies ahead

01

Across the Harry Potter films, the boy wizard is rarely without his loyal companion — a snowy owl gifted to him by Hagrid on his eleventh birthday. What is the owl’s name?




✓ Correct! Hedwig — the snowy owl Harry receives in The Philosopher’s Stone — becomes one of his most beloved companions. Errol is the Weasleys’ ancient, accident-prone owl; Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny hyperactive owl; and Crookshanks is Hermione’s ginger cat — not an owl at all.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Hedwig. Errol is the Weasleys’ clumsy family owl, Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny owl from later books, and Crookshanks is Hermione’s cat. Hedwig is the snowy owl Hagrid buys Harry for his birthday — even getting her own leitmotif from composer John Williams.

02

In Rob Reiner’s 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride, the farm boy Westley answers Buttercup’s every demand with the same three words — which she comes to realize actually mean “I love you.” What does he say?




✓ Correct! “As you wish” is Westley’s signature line — and the film’s emotional core. “Inconceivable!” is Vizzini’s catchphrase (prompting Inigo’s famous “You keep using that word…”). The other two were never in William Goldman’s script — the whole point is that three plain words carry all the meaning.

✗ Not quite! The answer is “As you wish.” “Inconceivable!” belongs to the Sicilian Vizzini. Buttercup slowly realizes that Westley’s endlessly repeated “As you wish” is really his way of saying “I love you” — one of the most quoted lines in fantasy cinema.

03

The 2006 Spanish-language masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth blends a fascist-era fairy tale with the grim reality of post-Civil War Spain, featuring the nightmarish Pale Man. Which director created this dark fantasy?




✓ Correct! Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed Pan’s Labyrinth, designing the Faun and the eyeless Pale Man himself. He’d later win Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water. Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban; Almodóvar is Spain’s great melodramatist; Rodriguez is del Toro’s close friend but made Sin City and Spy Kids.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Guillermo del Toro. Alfonso Cuarón (a fellow “Three Amigos” of Mexican cinema) directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pedro Almodóvar makes Spanish melodramas, and Robert Rodriguez made Sin City. Del Toro’s creature designs in Pan’s Labyrinth are now iconic.

04

In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), the four Pevensie children first stumble into the snowy land of Narnia by passing through what object?




✓ Correct! It’s a wardrobe — it’s right there in the title. Lucy hides inside during a game and finds the snow and lamppost of Narnia beyond the fur coats. A magical painting actually appears in the sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; the mirror and well are red herrings from other fantasy tales.

✗ Not quite! The answer is a wardrobe — literally named in the title. Lucy Pevensie pushes past the coats and steps out into snowy Narnia by the lamppost. (A magical painting does pull the children into the sea in the later film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — but not here.)

05

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) made Oscar history as the first fantasy film to win Best Picture, sweeping every category it was nominated in. How many Academy Awards did it take home?




✓ Correct! Return of the King won all 11 of its nominations — tying Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the all-time record, and becoming the first (and so far only) fantasy film to win Best Picture. Remarkably, it earned zero acting nominations yet still swept the board clean.

✗ Not quite! The answer is 11 — a perfect clean sweep. Return of the King tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscar wins ever and broke fantasy’s long Best Picture drought. Fellowship of the Ring won 4 and The Two Towers won 2; the finale took everything it was nominated for.

06

In the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean films, Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination playing a swaggering, kohl-eyed pirate captain reportedly inspired by Keith Richards. What is the character’s name?




✓ Correct! Captain Jack Sparrow — Depp’s loose-limbed, rum-soaked performance earned a surprise Best Actor nomination for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Will Turner is the blacksmith hero (Orlando Bloom), Davy Jones is the tentacle-faced villain (Bill Nighy), and Hector Barbossa is the mutinous rival captain (Geoffrey Rush).

✗ Not quite! The answer is Captain Jack Sparrow. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is the earnest blacksmith, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) is the squid-faced sea villain, and Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is the cursed rival. It was Depp’s Sparrow — modeled partly on Keith Richards — who earned the Oscar nod.

07

Jim Henson’s 1986 musical fantasy Labyrinth features a teenage Jennifer Connelly navigating a maze to rescue her baby brother from the flamboyant, wild-haired Goblin King Jareth. Which rock legend played Jareth?




✓ Correct! David Bowie played Jareth, writing and performing the film’s songs including “Magic Dance” and “As the World Falls Down.” Tim Curry famously played the demon Darkness in another Ridley Scott fantasy, Legend (also 1985-86). Jagger and Sting are rock icons but never donned Jareth’s glittering cape and wild wig.

✗ Not quite! The answer is David Bowie. Tim Curry played the towering devil Darkness in the rival fantasy Legend around the same time. Bowie not only starred as Jareth the Goblin King but composed and sang the soundtrack — “Magic Dance” remains the film’s signature number.

08

In the 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story, the young warrior Atreyu journeys across the dying realm of Fantasia and befriends a furry, dog-faced luckdragon who carries him through the skies. What is the luckdragon’s name?




✓ Correct! Falkor (Falkor the luckdragon) is the friendly, scale-and-fur covered dragon who aids Atreyu and Bastian. Artax is Atreyu’s horse, lost heartbreakingly in the Swamp of Sadness; Gmork is the wolf-like servant of The Nothing; and Bastian is the real-world boy reading the story who is ultimately drawn into it.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Falkor. Artax is Atreyu’s beloved horse (the Swamp of Sadness scene scarred a generation), Gmork is the menacing wolf-beast serving The Nothing, and Bastian is the bullied boy reading the book. Falkor is the soaring luckdragon — one of fantasy cinema’s most cherished creatures.

The Grimoire Closes · Quest Complete
Your Fantasy Rank

🔮

/ 8

Archmage of the Silver Screen — or still lost in the labyrinth?

The 2026 Masters of the Universe can now be found on Prime Video in the United States and around the world. The fantasy movie was initially released in theaters on May 18, having arrived on streaming a couple of months later, on July 22. Masters of the Universe finished its theatrical run with only $113.6 million against a reported budget of $170 million. On streaming, it has finally become a hit.

Given its $170 million budget, Masters of the Universe needed to finish its box office run between $340 million and $425 million. It failed to do so, losing the studio millions. However, the new fantasy epic has now found a second wind on Prime Video. At the time of writing, Masters of the Universe is the most-watched movie on Prime Video worldwide, according to FlixPatrol. The film leaves behind major releases like Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary, Hugh Jackman’s murder mystery The Sheep Detectives, Jason Statham’s A Working Man, The Drama, Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid, Kraven the Hunter, and more.

Masters of the Universe has managed to rank above all those major releases by trending in no less than 51 countries. Out of those, the new fantasy epic stands as Prime Video’s #1 movie in 25 nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and many more. While the United States is not one of them, the 2026 Masters of the Universe is also performing well nationwide, landing at #2. Masters of the Universe‘s Prime Video success has made it an instant hit, as the fantasy film started to trend a day after arriving on the streaming service.

Why Masters Of The Universe Is Worth Watching On Prime Video

Skeletor fisting his arms in Masters of the Universe
Skeletor fisting his arms in Masters of the Universe

As many did not watch Masters of the Universe in theaters, it is only natural that Prime Video subscribers around the world are now giving it a chance. Those viewers will be surprised by just how fun this vibrant fantasy epic is, with an immersive world, action-packed sequences, a talented cast, and much more. Masters of the Universe holds a decent 67% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, boasting a stellar 86% audience score. The latter shows why the fantasy movie is now Prime Video’s top film worldwide, as most of those who watch the film end up loving it.

Masters of the Universe is a new foray into a long-running fantasy franchise. It follows Adam, aka the popular fantasy hero He-Man, as he returns to his home planet, Eternia, to help defeat the diabolical villain known as Skeletor. There are both sequences with fantasy characters on Earth and set within the visually stunning Eternia. Masters of the Universe‘s cast features names like Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto, Morena Baccarin, Alison Brie, and more. Masters of the Universe is a fun fantasy adventure for Prime Video subscribers.


masters-of-the-universe-poster.jpg


Release Date

June 3, 2026

Runtime

141 minutes

Director

Travis Knight

Writers

Aaron Nee, Chris Butler, Dave Callaham, Adam Nee

Producers

DeVon Franklin, Jason Blumenthal, Robbie Brenner, Todd Black

  • Headshot Of Camila Mendes

  • Headshot Of Nicholas Galitzine

    Nicholas Galitzine

    Adam Glenn / He-Man


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https://screenrant.com/prime-video-masters-of-the-universe-streaming-charts-rise-july-2026/


Felipe Rangel
Almontather Rassoul

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