Disney had a year from top to bottom at the box office. They had incredibly raised peaks with “Lilo & Stitch” making $ 1 billion earlier this summer. They also had incredibly low stockings, with “Snow White” serving more of the biggest bombs of 2025. The next big film in the studio, the “Tron: ARES” long awaited, has the impression that it could go in the two way. The question is: will this bet pay? Or will this expansion of the franchise prove a false calculations?
Directed by Joachim Rønning (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”), “Tron: Ares” should currently stop between $ 42 and $ 55 million when he opens next weekend at the national level, by box office theory. These estimates are perfectly in accordance with the previous monitoring, which knew Disney’s last entry into the “Tron” series, which draws around $ 44 million, out of date. These figures suggest that this could be transformed into a moment of “time is a flat circle” for the house of the mouse.
“Tron: Legacy” of 2010 opened its doors to $ 44 million in the United States before making just over $ 400 million worldwide against a budget of $ 170 million. Although the “ARES” budget has not yet been revealed, it is difficult to make a film on this scale with a big casting for less these days. And, even if “Tron: Legacy” was largely considered a disappointment at the time of its release, Disney is now planning an almost identical opening weekend for this new suite.
The film focuses on a very sophisticated program, Ares (Jared Leto), which is sent from the digital world to the real world on a dangerous mission, marking the first meeting of humanity with the beings of AI. The cast also includes Greta Lee (“Past Lives”), Evan Peters (“American Horror Story”), Hasan Minhaj (“IT ends with us”), Jodie Turner-Smith (“After Yang”), Arturo Castro (“The Menu”), Cameron Monaghan (“Gotham”), Gillian Anderson (“Sex Education”) Bridges, REPRILING OF THE FLYN of the original “” TRON. “
Tron: maybe maybe finally transforming this into a successful franchise that Disney wants?
The financial realities of successful films are radically different now that they were not 15 years ago. The bar was lowered for everyone in Hollywood. Some studios could be quite satisfied with $ 400 million against a budget of $ 170 million. Maybe not delighted, but happy. Disney has long considered “tron” as a major franchise possible, going back to the original in 1982. It made $ 50 million against a budget of $ 17 million, but the studio had larger ambitions.
In the here and now Disney has rolled Tron Lightcycle in its theme parks. They spoke of making a “Legacy” sequel for years before “Ares” was made. They want “Tron” to be one thing. But “Ares” follows identical beginnings in the United States beyond, the international box office is more volatile than before, and “Legacy” made 57% of his money abroad. Admittedly, this is the kind of American film that can still play abroad, but depending on this money is a crazy race.
Then there is the Jared Leto of all this. Leto was accused of sexual misconduct by several women, which has been refused. Despite this, that throws a shadow on production and the press tour. Even if we just look at finances, Leto was not successful because “Suicide Squad” ($ 749 million worldwide) in 2016. “Blade Runner 2049” was an edifying story of a disaster, taking only $ 259 million worldwide. “The Little Things” (31 million dollars), “House of Gucci” ($ 153 million), “Morbius” ($ 167 million), and “Haunted Mansion” ($ 118 million) were all disappointments, if not outright flops.
The good news is that the competition in the PG-13 field, live blockbusters is not stiff for the rest of the year. But with friendly films like “Black Phone 2”, “Shelby Oaks”, “Springsteen: Delive Me From Nowhere”, “Predator: Badlands” and “The Running Man” arriving in the weeks following, there will always be competition. Between the high cost, the history of Leto and the history of this franchise, the risk is high. If the criticisms and the public are disappointing, it could face a difficult battle.
“Tron: Ares” will be released in theaters on October 10, 2025.
