A third Tron movie was always going to be a gamble for Disney, and the studio's decision to return to The Grid after Tron: Legacy's underwhelming box office performance has not paid off.
The latest box office reports are in, and while Tron: Ares did claim the No. 1 spot, it took in just $33.5 million from 4,000 North American theaters over the weekend, with another $27 million from overseas markets giving the movie a worldwide debut of $60 million.
This is quite a bit under original estimates of $80M-$90M, and a disappointing start for a movie with a reported $180 million budget (not counting the usual marketing costs).
“The movie was tracking well, but interest stalled during the last 10 days and the opening dropped,” says Franchise Entertainment Research's David A. Gross (via Variety). "The science fiction genre has always done well overseas. This is effects-driven, good-guys-versus-bad-guys storytelling that’s understood and well-liked across all cultures.”
The mixed-negative critical reception probably didn't help matters. With 181 reviews counted, Tron: Ares currently sits at 56% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Is this the final nail in the Tron franchise's coffin? There's always a chance things could improve at the box office over the next few weeks, but It's difficult to imagine Disney putting a fourth movie into development after this. Even so, director Joachim Rønning does hope to be able to continue the story following the events of Ares' post-credits scene.
Spoilers follow.
"If we are lucky enough to be able to continue this story, if enough people go and watch this version and this next installment, we can answer those questions," he tells Collider. "It’s a little bit a part of the journey when you're trying to make things land. So, I can't sit there and have all the answers for you right now because I've been just so into the present, getting this film done. For me, it's like, yeah, we'll get to that. We've obviously thought of that, but for me, it was just such an amazing moment to have Sark back and to be able, again, to just honor the franchise somehow, and the original movie."
Tron: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. The feature film is directed by Joachim Rønning and stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, with Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges.
Sean Bailey, Jared Leto, p.g.a., Emma Ludbrook, p.g.a., Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, p.g.a., and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Russell Allen, and Joseph Kosinski serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Jesse Wigutow, with story by David DiGilio and Wigutow, based on characters created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird.