Disney+’s #1 Movie Right Now Makes Disney’s Recent $601M Sci-Fi Franchise Failure Look Even Worse

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The new movie Predator: Badlands is currently the most popular title on Disney+, and its success is highlighting the disappointing performance of another recent Disney sci-fi sequel. Predator: Badlands, the latest installment in the Predator series, has already earned $185 million and received an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, it’s topping the Disney+ charts, showing it continues to be a hit with viewers even after its initial release.

As a huge fan of the Predator movies, I was really worried when Disney bought FOX. The Alien vs. Predator films didn’t really work, and Predators left a lot of people divided. That led to the 2018 The Predator, which, let’s be honest, didn’t go over well with critics. But then Disney surprised everyone by releasing Prey straight to Hulu, and it was fantastic! It was a massive hit, and they’ve kept the momentum going with Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands. Honestly, it’s completely breathed new life into a franchise I thought was on its last legs.

Disney’s Successes With FOX’s Legacy Franchises Make TRON’s Failure So Much Weirder

When Disney bought 20th Century Fox, they gained ownership of popular franchises like Predator. While some of these franchises weren’t doing well, their established fan base meant Disney didn’t want to abandon them. The Alien series, for example, had recently released some controversial prequel films. Disney then revitalized the franchise with Alien: Romulus, which was the best-received Alien movie since Aliens, and followed it up with Alien: Earth, a film that greatly expanded the Alien universe.

The Planet of the Apes series, despite a successful reboot trilogy, faced uncertainty about its future. Disney revived the franchise with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, launching a new storyline. Disney has also found success with the X-Men properties acquired from FOX, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe releasing Deadpool & Wolverine and integrating X-Men characters into the larger Avengers saga, particularly Avengers: Doomsday.

Disney has successfully revived sci-fi franchises it acquired, like Predator, Alien, Planet of the Apes, and X-Men. However, it’s struggled to do the same with TRON, a franchise that originated with Disney itself. The original TRON movie came out in 1982 and, while not a blockbuster, developed a dedicated fanbase. This led to a sequel, TRON: Legacy, released in 2010.

I was thrilled when the 2010 movie came out, and thankfully it made almost $410 million at the box office, even though it wasn’t a massive hit. It was profitable, just barely. But honestly, I was so frustrated with Disney. They just didn’t know what to do with TRON! They started talking about a sequel, then just… stopped. It took them until 2020 to even admit they were considering TRON 3, and that was way too late to keep the momentum going. They really missed an opportunity!

Released in 2025, TRON: Ares arrived 15 years after TRON: Legacy and a full 43 years after the original TRON. The film featured Jared Leto, an actor known for being controversial, and was directed by Joachim Rønning, whose previous films like Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales hadn’t been well-received. Marketing for Ares was confusing, leaving fans unsure if it was a continuation of Legacy or a fresh start. Adding to the changes, the popular electronic duo Daft Punk didn’t return to create the film’s soundtrack, a key element that made Legacy so beloved.

It’s no surprise that TRON: Ares wasn’t successful. Critics didn’t like it, and it lost money at the box office, earning only $142.2 million despite costing $220 million to make. Most fans consider it the worst TRON film, and many people were confused by it. In fact, fans predicted the movie would fail during its development because of some strange choices made during production. This raises the question: why didn’t Disney see this coming?

As a fan, it’s really frustrating to see how Disney handled TRON, especially when you look at how well they’ve treated the properties they got from FOX. TRON has so much potential – the idea is awesome, the look is instantly recognizable, and it’s a well-known title. I truly believe a good TRON movie is possible. It feels like a lot of the problems with the cancelled Ares project came from decisions made during production – a different director or even a different lead actor could have made all the difference. It’s just baffling that Disney didn’t seem to notice these issues, and it ultimately led to the film falling apart.

It’s doubtful we’ll see another TRON: Ares sequel anytime soon. Disney might wait a very long time – perhaps 15 years or more – before revisiting the TRON series. It’s disappointing for fans that the franchise has been poorly handled by the company, and they’re the ones who ultimately suffer as a result.

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2026-02-18 23:15