Tron: Ares Fails To Top Jared Leto’s Worst Movie On Opening Day

Tron is back, but not exactly roaring out of the grid. Disney finally rolled out Tron: Ares this weekend with Jared Leto in the lead, and the opening numbers are... fine. Not disastrous, not thrilling, just fine. For a franchise that has been dormant for over a decade and expensive to revive, that is not the opening you hope for.

The opening day reality check

Industry estimates put Tron: Ares at $14.3 million on day one. For context, yes, that is less than Morbius managed on its first day. And before you ask: Morbius was pummeled by critics, memed into oblivion, and still opened to $17.3 million before limping to a $167.4 million global total after a re-release. So Ares coming in under that on day one is a little eyebrow-raising.

On the flip side, the audience response for Ares looks better out of the gate. It pulled a B+ CinemaScore, plus a stronger audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes than the critical consensus. Translation: regular moviegoers seem to be enjoying it more than the reviews suggest.

Weekend projections just slipped

Before release, the industry chatter had Ares opening roughly in line with Tron: Legacy, which debuted to $44 million domestically back in 2010. That prediction has now softened to $35–37 million for the weekend. Not a nosedive, but a step down from what Disney would have preferred.

So what is driving (or not driving) people to the theater?

Despite whatever Jared Leto headlines you want to blame, surveys suggest the audience motivation here is the brand and the genre: 47% of buyers went because it is a Tron movie, and 41% went because it is sci-fi. That tracks with how the film is playing: niche but passionate, with a chance to hold decently if word of mouth keeps up and competition stays light over the next couple weeks.

By the numbers

• Tron: Ares opening day (domestic): $14.3M
• Current opening weekend projection (domestic): $35–37M (initially tracked near Tron: Legacy’s $44M)
• CinemaScore: B+
• Rotten Tomatoes: 57% critics, 86% audience
• IMDb user score: 6.6
• Production budget: $180M
• Rough break-even target (2.5x budget rule): around $450M worldwide
• Projected international opening weekend: $40–45M
• Morbius comparison: $17.3M opening day, $167.4M final global run, 15% RT critics, 71% RT audience, 5.1 on IMDb

The money math and the path forward

With a $180 million budget, you are looking at roughly $450 million worldwide to make this thing whole using the standard 2.5x yardstick. That is doable, but it requires legs. The good news: premium formats are a real factor here. IMAX, Dolby, 3D, ScreenX, D-Box, and 4DX all help juice per-ticket revenue, and Ares was built to be seen big and loud. The weekend-to-weekend drops will tell the story.

One thing the movie absolutely nails

The score slaps. Nine Inch Nails had to follow Daft Punk’s now-iconic Legacy soundtrack, which is a terrifying assignment, and they delivered a bold, muscular sound that gives the movie an identity without trying to copy-paste the past. Credit where it is due.

The bigger picture

Once again, we are seeing the new reality: big-budget IP does not guarantee a rocket-fueled opening. Ares is not a flop, and it is definitely not the internet’s punching bag the way Morbius was, but it has work to do. If audiences keep showing up and the drops stay gentle, it can claw its way to a respectable finish. If not, Disney will be asking some tough questions about how far the Tron brand can travel.

Tron: Ares is in theaters now. If you saw it, I am genuinely curious: did it click for you, or did it leave you cold?