Jared Leto in “TRON: Ares.”
Disney Enterprises, Inc./Leah Gallo
Disney’s TRON: Ares, starring Jared Leto, took a massive tumble at the domestic box office in its second weekend in theaters.
TRON: Ares earned $33.2 million from 4,000 North American theaters during its opening weekend from Oct. 10-12 to take the No. 1 slot at the domestic box office.
Additionally, TRON: Ares — the third film in the video game-themed sci-fi franchise that kicked off in 1982’s TRON and continued in 2010 with TRON: Legacy — earned $27 million in international ticket sales in its first frame, bringing the film’s worldwide opening weekend tally to $60 million.
Going into its opening weekend, however, Deadline reported that the film was estimated to earn $40 million to $45 million domestically and $80 million to $90 million worldwide.
Unfortunately for Disney, the film’s financial woes went from bad to worse over the weekend. According to The Numbers, TRON: Ares is estimated to earn $11.1 million in its second Friday-to-Sunday frame domestically, which marks a 66% drop in business from its opening weekend.
The steep dive mirrors the same fate Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe film — The Fantastic Four: First Steps — suffered when its domestic box office business dropped 67% during its second weekend in North American theaters in August.
To date, TRON: Ares, which also stars Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson and Jeff Bridges, has earned $54.5 million domestically and $48.4 million internationally for a worldwide tally of $102.9 million. TRON: Ares, according to The Hollywood Reporter, had a net production budget of roughly $180 million before marketing costs.
Should TRON: Ares’ box office downslide continue, the film’s next best chance to recoup its production and marketing costs will come with the film’s release on digital streaming. It will be a long wait, though, since unlike most studios, Disney has a 60-day window between the time its films open and theaters and arrive on premium video on demand.
Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames in “Black Phone 2.”
Universal Pictures
‘The Black Phone’ Opens At No. 1 At The Domestic Box Office
TRON: Ares’ time at the top of the domestic box office was short-lived thanks to the release of Universal Pictures’ horror sequel Black Phone 2 on Friday.
Starring Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames, who reprised their roles from the 2021 original, Black Phone 2 earned an estimated $26.5 million in its first Friday to Sunday frame, according to The Numbers.
TRON: Ares, meanwhile, took the No. 2 spot in the domestic box office top five, followed by Lionsgate’s R-rated comedy Good Fortune at No. 3. Starring Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari — who also wrote and directed the film — Good Fortune earned $6.2 million in its opening weekend.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s action comedy One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, earned an estimated $4 million in its fourth weekend in theaters, upping its domestic tally to $61.9 million. Worldwide, the film has earned $162.5 million to date.
Channing Tatum’s crime comedy Roofman earned an estimated $3.7 million to take the No. 5 slot at the weekend box office. The Paramount Pictures release, which opened in theaters on Oct. 10, has earned $15.5 million domestically and just over $600,000 internationally for a global gross of $16.1 million to date.
The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.
