The Real Reasons Tron: Ares Crashed at the Box Office
After years of hype, Disney’s Tron: Ares short-circuits on launch, opening to just $33.5 million domestic and $27 million overseas—$60.5 million worldwide—an anemic start for the futuristic sequel led by Jared Leto.
Disney brought Tron back to the big screen with the kind of glossy trailers and heavy marketing that usually scream 'event movie.' The result? Not so much. Tron: Ares stumbled out of the gate with $33.5M in the US and $27M overseas for a $60.5M worldwide opening against a production budget around $180M. For a high-tech sequel meant to reignite the franchise, that is... not great.
This is the third film in the series and the first since 2010. Directed by Joachim Rønning, it stars Jared Leto as Ares alongside Greta Lee (Eve Kim), Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro (Seth Flores), and Gillian Anderson. It runs 1h 59m, opened on October 10, 2025, and critics are split so far — 57% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What went sideways
- Reviews that did not help: A 57% on Rotten Tomatoes is the definition of a shrug, and for a series that does not have a Marvel- or Star Wars-level safety net, that matters. Casual moviegoers look at the score, and if the early chatter is mixed, they stay home. Without strong word-of-mouth, you lose social buzz, repeat viewings, and momentum.
- The Jared Leto factor: He is an Oscar winner, but not a reliable box office draw. Recent titles like Morbius and House of Gucci underperformed, and even Blade Runner 2049 did not translate his presence into big crowds. Add years of headlines about unusual 'method' antics and accusations of inappropriate conduct he has denied, and you get a polarizing lead at the center of a franchise that needed goodwill, not debates.
- A 15-year layoff: Tron: Legacy hit in 2010; Ares shows up in 2025. Legacy itself arrived 28 years after the 1982 original. That is a long time to expect people to hold a torch. The nostalgia bet did not pay off: many Legacy-era fans moved on, and younger audiences have no built-in attachment. The openings tell the story — Ares at $33.5M domestic versus Legacy's $44M.
- Thin, not fervent, fandom: The 1982 film is a cult classic for tech heads and gamers, but the brand never broke wide. Legacy delivered killer visuals and a memorable soundtrack, but it did not build a deeply committed fanbase that stuck around for a decade-plus. Meanwhile, newer sci-fi tentpoles like Avatar and Dune have been soaking up attention. Tron just did not feel essential.
- Messaging muddle: reboot vs sequel: Disney pitched Ares as a fresh start rather than a straight continuation of Legacy. That confused both camps. Longtime fans expected to see Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) pick up where things left off. They did not. Years back, Disney had a direct Legacy follow-up brewing with director Joseph Kosinski and the returning cast, but it was scrapped after Tomorrowland underperformed in 2015. Fast-forward, and Ares arrives with a new direction and faces, and the 'reboot' framing alienated the die-hards without fully onboarding newcomers.
If Tron: Ares legs out, it will need excellent holds and strong international play to climb that $180M hill, and the early signs are not exactly glowing. The movie is in theaters worldwide now — if you saw it, did the Grid spark for you or did the power flicker out?