‘TRON: Ares’ Crashes: It’s Game Over for Disney’s Latest Franchise Reboot

Disney’s latest installment in the TRON franchise, TRON: Ares,  a disappointing start. The film earned only $33 million in its opening weekend, far below earlier expectations of $40 million to $45 million. At one point, tracking suggested the film could reach as high as $50 million.

The $180 million production budget, not including marketing, means the sci-fi sequel will need to generate roughly $350 million worldwide to break even. While TRON: Ares will win its opening weekend, its trajectory appears weaker than anticipated. The 2010 release TRON: Legacy opened to $44 million, and the original 1982 TRON, directed by Steven Lisberger, became a cult favorite despite mixed reviews at the time.

Reviews for TRON: Ares remain divided. Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a critics score of 55 percent, though audiences have scored it at 87 percent. The film is directed by Disney veteran Joachim Rønning, known for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. It stars Jared Leto as the program Ares, Greta Lee as ENCOM CEO Eve Kim, and Evan Peters as antagonist Julian Dillinger. The cast choices generated a lot of contention, with complaints about Lee’s performance and ongoing public criticism of Leto and reports of his offensive activities with underage girls. Setting the controversies aside, he certainly has shown he can’t open a film.

The TRON series has long been known for its blend of computer-generated visuals and futuristic storytelling. TRON: Legacy in particular earned praise for Joseph Kosinski’s direction, advanced 3D effects, and the acclaimed Daft Punk score, so naturally many fans expected Ares to continue pushing technological limits and expand the narrative. Instead, the latest chapter misreads the appeal of the franchise entirely. It turns the hero of the previous film into a non-person and a failure, and has no interest in continuing the next chapter of that story.

Now with steep financial hurdles ahead, combined with mixed reception from critics, TRON: Ares may force Disney to re-evaluate the future of the property. For now, box office results show that nostalgia and brand recognition are no longer enough to sustain a once-groundbreaking series.

Same franchise. Same studio. Can you spot the difference?

Disney has faced repeated failures with high-cost reboots in recent years, raising questions about whether audiences are rejecting the studio or just their current approach. The results for TRON: Ares suggest viewers may be tired of seeing legacy brands reworked instead of fresh, original stories. If this trend continues, Disney will have to make a choice; risk more of its money chasing nostalgia or move on to new ideas that can actually compete in today’s fickle box office.

For now it looks like it’s ‘game over’ for the franchise.

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