Topline
“Tron: Ares” opened with a disappointing $33.5 million at the domestic box office, according to early estimates reported by the Hollywood trade publications, with the Jared Leto-helmed reboot coming in below projections and well below the opening weekend sales from the last installment released in 2010.
The new “Tron” installment comes 15 years since Disney rebooted the franchise with “Tron: Legacy.”
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Key Facts
The new installment in the “Tron” franchise, which stars Leto, Greta Lee, and Evan Peters, grossed about $14.3 million on its opening night on Friday, but only grossed $33.5 million across 4,000 theaters in North America over the course of the entire weekend.
“Tron: Ares” had a reported budget of $180 million, making it the most expensive film in the sci-fi franchise’s history, and it is unclear if the film will be able to recoup its budget after a slow opening weekend.
The weekend gross is well below expert projections—forecasters at Box Office Pro estimated the film could gross $40 million to $48 million before its debut.
The film has received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences, and is sitting at an average user score of 5.8 on Metacritic.
How Does The New “tron” Film Compare With The Earlier Installments?
The original “Tron” was released in 1982 and failed to make a major splash at the box office, grossing only about $33 million over the course of its entire theatrical run. However, the film eventually became a sci-fi cult classic, and anticipation was high when Disney announced a sequel decades later. That sequel, “Tron: Legacy” starring Garret Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, and Olivia Wilde, was eventually released in 2010 and proved to be a much more successful hit for the company. “Tron: Legacy” opened with $44 million and eventually grossed $172 million domestically, combined with another $228 million in international markets for a total of $400 million. The reboot reportedly had a budget of about $170 million. Despite the film’s success, work on a sequel to the sci-fi hit stalled for years. Leto was reportedly in talks with Disney about starring in the third film as early as 2017, but the actor didn’t confirm his involvement in the film until 2020.
What Other Films Were Hits At The Box Office This Weekend?
“Roofman,” the comedy-crime drama starring Channing Tatum, also opened over the weekend at 3,362 theaters, grossing an estimated $8 million in line with expectations. The relatively mild opening was still enough to put “Roofman” in second place at the domestic box office. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” a holdover released in September, remained in third place grossing $6.8 million during its third weekend in theaters. “One Battle After Another” is now Anderson’s most successful film at the domestic box office, but like “Tron: Ares” has an uphill battle to recoup its budget, which is reportedly in the $130 million range.
