The Tron franchise has always been something of a strange one within Disney. Since the first movie debuted in 1982, Tron has certainly had a dedicated fanbase, which has helped the movie get two sequels, an animated series, multiple video games, and a Tron roller coaster at two Disney theme parks. And yet, Tron has never really achieved the blockbuster status it has wanted, and that’s not starting now.
As much as I love Tron as a franchise, I never really expected Tron: Ares to be a massive hit. That said, even I never really expected it would do quite as badly at the box office as it had, and somehow, over a full week after release, things are actually even worse.
Tron: Ares Could Lose A Staggering $130 Million Or More
Tron: Ares has only just cracked the $100 million global box office mark after two weekends in theaters. That number is disappointing on its own, but Deadline is now reporting that the previous budget number for Ares of around $180 million was low, and the movie’s cost was more like $220 million… with more than $100 million more spent on marketing.
This means the movie has less than a third of its total cost back at the box office so far, less since the box office numbers are total, and a portion of that $100 million goes to the theaters. Deadline estimates the total cost of Tron: Ares was nearly $350 million. It also estimates that the movie will ultimately bring in about $215 million once you add in all the movie’s various revenue streams (home video, TV and airplane licensing, etc). That balances out to a loss somewhere north of $130 million.
What’s Next For Tron?
I certainly wasn’t expecting Tron: Ares to be a billion-dollar blockbuster on par with an Avatar movie, but this is far worse than I expected. The original Tron wasn’t a runaway hit, but the movie became a cult classic. 2010’s Tron: Legacy was a modest hit, though still not the runaway success Disney was likely hoping for. Although it fared far better than this. Disney and science fiction have always had a tough relationship, but this is as bad as it gets.
As a franchise, Tron certainly isn’t going anywhere. Tron: Lightcycle Run is one of the newest rides at Magic Kingdom and a solid success. The Tron: Ares overlay the ride currently has seems to be better received than the movie itself.
People are going to know what Tron is for decades to come, but that doesn’t mean we’ll see any of it on the big screen. While the question of why Ares is flopping so hard will certainly be asked, the end result is likely that no Tron movies will come out for a while.