‘Tron: Ares‘ Faces Uphill Battle After Disappointing Box Office debut
Los Angeles, CA – disney’s highly anticipated sci-fi sequel, Tron: Ares, stumbled out of the gate this weekend, earning just $33.5 million domestically across 4,000 theaters. The launch falls significantly short of industry projections of $45 million and trails the 2010 opening of Tron: Legacy ($44 million, unadjusted for inflation), raising concerns about the film’s overall performance.
The $180 million production, directed by Joachim Rønning, now appears to be following a familiar trajectory toward potential box office failure, mirroring the struggles of previous visually ambitious projects. Tron: Legacy ultimately grossed $172 million domestically and $400 million worldwide against a $170 million budget.
Tron: Ares’ opening is even lower than recent underperformers like 2022’s Morbius ($39 million debut) and 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 ($32.7 million debut, $92 million US total, $277.9 million worldwide). notably, 2025’s Snow White opened to $42.2 million.
While box office debuts aren’t always indicative of a film’s final earnings - as demonstrated by Mufasa: The lion King, which rebounded to $254.5 million domestically and $722.6 million globally after a $35.4 million start – Tron: Ares faces an additional hurdle: overwhelmingly negative critical reviews. The film, released in French cinemas on October 8th, will need a important boost from positive word-of-mouth to avoid becoming one of 2025’s biggest disappointments.
