Tron: Ares Box Office Underperforms Massively

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I’ve been following the box office numbers closely this weekend, and everyone’s talking about *Tron: Ares*. While it didn’t open quite as high as some predicted, I’ve noticed a lot of buzz about how well it did in premium formats and with its international release. It was interesting to see *Roofman* have a solid start too, and *Soul on Fire* really connected with faith-based viewers – a great result for them!

Tron: Ares falls way short of Legacy’s box office opening

Disney’s new film, Tron: Ares, didn’t perform as well as hoped for its opening weekend, bringing in $33.5 million domestically and $60.5 million worldwide. Experts initially predicted a North American debut of $45 to $50 million and a global launch of $90 to $95 million. The film, directed by Joachim Rønning, cost around $180 million to make, and a significant portion of its earnings – 67% – came from premium viewing formats like IMAX, 3D, and ScreenX. (Source: Deadline)

The movie attracted an older crowd, with only 30% of viewers under the age of 25. According to PostTrak, 57% of viewers said they would definitely recommend it, and CinemaScore gave it a B+ rating – comparable to the original *Tron: Legacy*. That earlier film opened to $44 million in the U.S. and ultimately earned $400 million globally ($172 million domestically and $228 million internationally, according to Box Office Mojo). *Tron: Ares*, however, opened with $33.5 million, which is about a 24% drop in opening weekend revenue compared to *Tron: Legacy*.

Experts pointed out that Ares’ box office results were similar to those of Blade Runner 2049, which opened with $32.7 million in 2017 despite having a comparable budget and release strategy. Both movies aimed at a specific sci-fi fanbase and didn’t perform as well as expected.

Even with a big global marketing push – including special showings in IMAX, partnerships with popular games like Fortnite and Minecraft, and promotions with the NFL and MLB – the movie didn’t attract many viewers. Despite all these efforts, attendance remained low.

Disney first introduced the world to Tron in 1982, and then brought the franchise back nearly thirty years later with Tron: Legacy. More than a decade after that, Disney created a new film, Ares, which explored the idea of artificial intelligence entering the real world. However, despite the well-known Tron brand, the film didn’t attract a wider audience beyond existing fans.

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2025-10-13 08:06