Hollywood’s Worst Box-Office Director Just Handed Tron: Ares Its Biggest Loss Yet
Tron: Ares is stumbling out of the gate — Disney’s lavish sci-fi sequel has pulled in just $133 million worldwide since its October 10 launch, per Box Office Mojo — while Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, grabs the spotlight.
Quick pulse check on two very different fall movies: Disney's neon-soaked franchise sequel 'Tron: Ares' and Paul Thomas Anderson's new drama 'One Battle After Another.' One is built to be a crowd-pleasing sci-fi event. The other is the kind of auteur film that usually makes its money back on Blu-ray sales and film school references. Guess which one is ahead at the box office.
The scorecard right now
'Tron: Ares' has pulled in around $133 million worldwide since opening on October 10. 'One Battle After Another,' which hit theaters on September 26 and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, is sitting at about $190 million worldwide and creeping toward $200 million. For a filmmaker who is not known for four-quadrant blockbusters, that is a very strong number.
Why that comparison is actually kind of wild
Paul Thomas Anderson does not make rah-rah crowd-pleasers. His movies are built around performances, mood, and character, not spectacle or IP. Meanwhile, 'Tron: Ares' is a big-budget Disney sci-fi sequel with Jared Leto, designed to revive a legacy brand. The fact that PTA's latest is outpacing it suggests 'Ares' is having a much harder time connecting than a movie like this is supposed to.
PTA's box office track record, in context
To be clear, Anderson's reputation has never been about huge ticket sales. He is prized for his very specific voice, critical acclaim, and awards attention. His recent films have mostly broken even at best, and sometimes not even that. Here is what the last stretch looked like:
- Licorice Pizza (2021): $40M budget, $32.9M worldwide
- Phantom Thread (2017): $35M budget, $47.4M worldwide
- Inherent Vice (2014): $20M budget, $14.8M worldwide
- The Master (2012): $37M budget, $29M worldwide
- There Will Be Blood (2007): $25M budget, $77.1M worldwide
Point being: his success is measured by the work, not the weekend multipliers. Which is exactly why seeing his 2025 film push toward $200M is noteworthy.
Where 'Tron: Ares' actually stands
At roughly $133M global, 'Ares' has still notched a legit milestone. According to the year-to-date charts, it is currently the 24th highest-grossing release of 2025. It has inched past 'Materialists' ($106M), 'Karate Kid: Legends' ($117M), 'The Naked Gun' ($102M), 'Black Phone 2' ($104M), 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' ($100M), and, yes, 'Nobody 2' ($39M). That is a respectable placement on paper.
The math problem that spoils the party
The reported production budget for 'Tron: Ares' is around $180 million. Once you add marketing and the cut theaters take, studios generally need well over 2x the budget to clear a profit. In practical terms, this one likely needs at least $450M worldwide just to break even. At $133M, it is nowhere near that threshold yet.
So even though 'Ares' is technically one of the higher-grossing titles of the year, the oversized price tag makes the performance look softer than that ranking suggests. Big swing, tougher landing.
'Tron: Ares' and 'One Battle After Another' are both in theaters worldwide. Think 'Ares' can rally, or is this race already decided? Tell me where your money is.