Written by So how did the “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” series perform on Netflix? How did the show’s action figures perform in the “Masterverse” MOTU toy line relaunch?
In anticipation of the Mattel toy company’s earnings reports (due out soon) for not just October, November and December 2021 but a look at the entire year, we wanted to take a look back at Mattel’s data and reaction this past Summer when “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” first launched on July 23rd, as well as its corresponding toy line “Masterverse” launched on June 15th. Were both the television series and toy line considered a success? A failure? Let’s find out!
First up, let’s talk the “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” Netflix Series.
Unlike the good old days of the public Neilson Ratings, the Netflix Streaming Service keeps their viewership data close to the vest. The amount of viewers, repeat viewers, viewer demographics, and new subscribers it credits to a series is not available for public consumption. Neither is a particular show’s budget, and how a show needs to perform to justify that budget and be considered a success. Unfortunately this secrecy leaves fans nothing to go on, until someone involved with a particular series reports on the show’s performance. And that is precisely what Mattel did for “Masters of the Universe: Revelation”!
On July 27, 2021, during an earnings call, Mattel’s President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Dickson was asked how “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” was performing on Netflix. Here is the transcript:
Gerrick Luke Johnson – BMO Capital Markets Equity Research – Senior Toys and Leisure Analyst “Richard, so your reaction to Masters of the Universe: Revelation. You are #6 on Netflix. I think it was #2 for kids. Are there any metrics you could share in terms of viewers? And how was the performance versus your expectations?”
Richard Dickson – Mattel, Inc. – President & COO “Well, Gerrick, first off, we were actually #1 in ranking on the kids’ series in the U.S. in its first weekend.”
Gerrick Luke Johnson – BMO Capital Markets Equity Research – Senior Toys and Leisure Analyst “Sorry about that.”
Richard Dickson – Mattel, Inc. – President & COO “Yes. It’s favorable for us. And we were also a top 5 series on Netflix in 20 markets. We were top 10 in 55 markets. Those include ranking #4 in the U.S., #1 in Brazil, #2 in Germany. All of this in the first weekend. We’re really very, very pleased with the beginning of this and excited about the continuation of the momentum on Masters of the Universe in a variety of different ways.”
So thanks to Richard Dickson, we know “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” ranked as the #1 kids series on its opening weekend, ranked as an overall top-5 series in 20 countries, and ranked top-10 series in 55 countries. Now we don’t know how Part Two performed yet, but Part One’s opening looks like it was a resounding success!
Here’s the related portion of the official transcript that came directly from Mattel so you can read it for yourself:
Next up is the “Masterverse” toy line featuring “Masters of the Universe: Revelation characters:
President and COO Richard Dickson didn’t stop there when talking about the success with “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” series around the world, but continued to discuss the figures. Check it out:
Richard Dickson – Mattel, Inc. – President & COO “Action Figures has been a great success story for us overall. We talked about gross billings more than doubling, innovation with Jurassic and WWE, but really very, very happy with the relaunch of Masters. And as we move forward, we’re also looking forward to the next series as well that will start in the fall. He-Man and Masters of the Universe premiers in the fall, and that’s actually geared towards kids. So, so far, so good and momentum building.”
So the President of Mattel didn’t just say he was “happy” with the MOTU figure relaunch, but he said he was “very, very happy”.
So, considering what the President of Mattel told us in the Second Quarter, we’re not surprised to find out in Mattel’s Third Quarter Earnings Report covering July, August, and September 2021 that their gross billings grew with exceptional strength in action figures!
So there you go! Now how did Part Two of “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” perform? And did the “Masterverse” action figure line continue to be successful beyond September 2021? We don’t know, but both the series and the toy line did start out very well.
Until next time!
Required reading for the IT FLOPPED crowd