Tron: Ares Is a Bigger Flop for Disney than Some of the Most Famous Box Office Failures of All Time

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Disney has experienced some costly flops in theaters. Before it became common for big films to lose money after the pandemic, Disney used to respond dramatically to any public failure. Two classic examples are *John Carter* and *The Lone Ranger*, both of which led to intense internal reviews and changes in the company’s plans.

When it comes to financial performance, *Tron: Ares* is performing even worse than previously massive failures. It’s so bad, it might actually make *Snow White*, starring Rachel Zegler, look like a huge success by comparison.

After two weekends in theaters, *Ares* has earned approximately $103 million worldwide – about $54.6 million domestically and $48.4 million internationally. However, the film experienced a significant drop in ticket sales, falling 66% in North America to just $11.1 million. Considering its production cost of around $180 million (not including the substantial marketing expenses), *Ares* is currently far from reaching the $200-225 million typically needed to break even.

Compared to Disney’s past failures, *Tron: Ares* is performing even worse. *John Carter* earned $284.1 million worldwide but still resulted in a $200 million loss for Disney and significant internal criticism. *The Lone Ranger* made $260.5 million, leading to a $190 million write-down. Both of these films, despite earning more than twice what *Tron: Ares* has so far, still caused financial losses and internal repercussions. Considering *Carter* and *Ranger* were considered failures at $284 million and $260 million respectively, *Ares*, with roughly $103 million (given similar modern production costs), is already falling short in terms of total revenue, not just profit.

Just a quick note for anyone who missed it: these numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation. If they were, films like *John Carter* and *The Lone Ranger* would likely have earned over $400 million!

The film’s performance dropped off sharply after its opening weekend, which is a bad sign. *Ares* opened with $33.5 million domestically, less than the $44 million *Tron: Legacy* earned in 2010, and then quickly lost momentum. This steep decline suggests negative reviews and weak international sales – a significant issue considering *Legacy* made $400 million worldwide on a $170 million budget fifteen years ago. Current overseas earnings are only around $48 million, and even reaching a total of $200 million globally now seems unlikely. This isn’t just a case of the film underperforming; it’s a major failure for a franchise that had previously shown it could achieve moderate success worldwide.

Here’s why the situation with *Ares* is more critical than with *Carter/Ranger*: *Ares* is significantly less profitable. Even using a conservative estimate for a blockbuster’s financial success, *Ares* needs to earn around $550–$600 million worldwide just to cover its costs (excluding interest and general overhead) before it starts making a profit.

The movie is currently around $103 million at the box office, but with domestic sales rapidly declining, Disney is likely facing a financial loss that could be even bigger, relative to its cost, than previous unsuccessful films.

Previously, when Disney faced box office disappointments, they had other strong successes – like popular animated films and the rapidly growing Marvel franchise – to balance things out. But in 2025, with fewer major hits expected, a significant loss will not only hurt Disney’s film profits, but also weaken plans to promote products and park visits based on popular movies. Past failures, like *John Carter*, led to major changes in leadership and strategy. *Ares* is likely to cause similar scrutiny, but this time, Disney has even less financial stability to absorb the impact.

Tron: Ares isn’t doing well at all, and it could potentially mean the end of the Tron movie series.

The box office results are harsh for Disney. Their costly sci-fi sequel performed poorly in its second weekend, while a low-budget horror film topped the charts with a $26.5 million domestic and $42 million global opening. This highlights how audiences are quick to dismiss expensive sequels that don’t feel essential. The contrast between the success of the horror film and the failure of Disney’s *Ares* really shows the risk Disney is taking with its big-budget projects and whether they’re worth the investment.

Look, as a Disney fan, I think *Tron: Ares* is sending a really clear message. After those big misses with *The Lone Ranger* and *John Carter*, Disney learned a tough lesson about spending huge amounts of money on movies that don’t appeal to everyone. *Ares* seems to be a warning: unless a movie is practically guaranteed to be a hit with all audiences, it’s just not worth the massive risk. The losses on those earlier films really changed how Disney operates, and *Ares* is proving that lesson is still important.

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2025-10-20 18:56