Tron: Ares Just Pulled a Zack Snyder on Rotten Tomatoes
Tron: Ares ignites the latest critics-vs-audience showdown: after its Oct. 10, 2025 debut, Joachim Rønning’s sequel sits at 55% with critics but surges to 86% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes — a near-30-point gulf that echoes the Zack Snyder effect.
Tron: Ares hit theaters on October 10, 2025, and it immediately became the latest exhibit in the critics-vs-audience tug-of-war. The short version: people who bought tickets are having a great time, and people who review movies for a living are not as charmed.
The numbers, because yes, they matter
Joachim Rønning directs, Jared Leto leads, and on Rotten Tomatoes the split is stark: 55% from critics, 86% from audiences. Call it roughly a 30-point gap, which tells you everything about how differently this one is landing depending on which seat you occupy.
Why audiences are into it
If you sat down wanting a glossy, high-tech lightshow, Tron: Ares pretty much gives you the full platter. The movie looks huge, pushes the slick digital aesthetic forward from Tron: Legacy, and leans hard on an industrial-epic sound. The Nine Inch Nails score is the MVP here, layering in the feeling when the script wobbles. It is exactly the kind of sensory package this series has always sold: neon spectacle, callbacks, and pure escapism. Fans came for that, and they got it.
Why critics are cooler on it
Most reviewers are tipping their hats to the production design and the overall vibe, then stepping back from the story. The recurring note: it is emotionally distant. Great to look at, not as great to feel. If that critique sounds familiar, it is because we have heard it before about a certain other filmmaker.
The Snyder parallel, explained
For about two decades, big, stylized genre swings have sparked the same argument. Zack Snyder is the go-to reference point: fans rally around the operatic vision, critics often label it cold or thin. And the conversation sometimes lumps in DC titles from that era whether Snyder directed them or not. The pattern holds because the expectations are different. Critics watch a ton of arthouse and develop a taste for nuance; the average moviegoer wants a clean two-hour escape with style, payoff, big moments, and a soundtrack that rattles the seats. On that wavelength, Tron: Ares delivers.
A quick scorecard people love to cite
- Rebel Moon - Part One: Director's Cut (2024) - 53% critics | 73% audience
- Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) - 57% critics | 73% audience
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - 28% critics | 63% audience
- Man of Steel (2013) - 57% critics | 75% audience
So what does that say about Tron: Ares?
It is getting the same 'style over substance' tag Snyder movies routinely wear, and it is playing to the same crowd that shows up for maximalist sci-fi delivered at volume. If you want your blockbusters to dazzle and roar, this one ticks the boxes. If you need a story that hugs you back, fair warning.
Tron: Ares is currently in theaters in the US.