“Tron: Ares” opened to a disappointing $33.5 million at the domestic box office, according to early estimates released by Hollywood trade publications, with the Jared Leto-directed reboot falling short of projections and well below the opening weekend sales of the last installment released in 2010.
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The new installment of the “Tron” franchise, starring Leto, Greta Lee and Evan Peters, grossed around $14.3 million on its opening night on Friday, but only took in $33.5 million in 4,000 North American theaters over the entire weekend.
“Tron: Ares” had a reported budget of $180 million, making it the most expensive film in the sci-fi franchise’s history, and it’s unclear if the film will be able to recoup its budget after a slow opening weekend.
The weekend’s gross is well below expert projections: Box Office Pro analysts estimated the film could gross between $40 million and $48 million before its release.
The film has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, and has an average user score of 5.8 on Metacritic.
How does the new “Tron” movie compare to previous installments?
The original “Tron” was released in 1982 and failed to make a big splash at the box office, grossing only about $33 million during its entire theatrical run. However, the film eventually became a sci-fi cult classic, and anticipation was high when Disney announced a sequel decades later. That sequel, “Tron: Legacy,” starring Garret Hedlund, Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde, finally premiered in 2010 and turned out to be a much more successful hit for the company. “Tron: Legacy” opened with $44 million and ultimately grossed $172 million domestically, combined with another $228 million in international markets for a total of $400 million. The reboot was reported to have a budget of approximately $170 million. Despite the film’s success, work on a sequel to the sci-fi hit stalled for years. Leto was reportedly in talks with Disney about starring in the third film as early as 2017, but the actor did not confirm his involvement in the film until 2020.
What other movies were hits at the box office this weekend?
“Roofman,” the crime comedy-drama starring Channing Tatum, also opened over the weekend in 3,362 theaters, grossing approximately $8 million, in line with expectations. This relatively moderate opening was enough for “Roofman” to take second place at the domestic box office. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” a sequel released in September, remained in third place, grossing $6.8 million during its third weekend in theaters. “One Battle After Another” is now Anderson’s most successful film at the domestic box office, but, like “Tron: Ares,” it has an uphill task to recoup its budget, which is reportedly around $130 million.
This article was originally published by Forbes US.
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