Greetings Programs. It seems that “Tron: Ares” is not performing well at the box office with an estimated $33-$37 million at its opening weekend. Globally, it is estimated to be around $60 million, but it has not opened in China.
This is not great. It is below “Tron: Legacy” and even “Morbius” did better. However, “Morbius” only cost $80 million and “Tron: Ares” cost an estimated $180 million.
We went to the theater for the first showing at 4 PM, and we were the only ones in the movie theater. Some tried to say that we went at a time when most people wouldn’t go. I went to the same release time (and day of the week) for “Snow White”, “Fantastic 4: First Steps”, and “Superman”. Each time the theater had a lot of other people in it (Snow White had fewer people, but there were other people).
Why is the movie failing?
According to Deadline, it’s failing due to “long-term COVID” and sports. Here is what they said on Saturday,
“The long-term lasting impact from Covid thwarting moviegoing is easily felt this weekend..” followed today with “With an MLB playoff game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, and 12 NFL games today, Disney‘s Tron: Ares isn’t popping a wheelie this weekend, slowing down to a $33.5M 3-day, and $60.5M global debut.”
They unironically blamed COVID and MLB/NFL for the poor opening of “Tron: Ares”.
Meanwhile, other films, including “Lilo & Stitch”, “Minecraft”, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and “Inside Out 2” have performed exceptionally well in a “post-COVID” era.
Will the COVID fears disappear when “Zootopia 2”, “Wicked for Good”, and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” come out? Because they will likely far outperform “Tron: Ares”.
Why is it actually not doing well at the box office?
“Tron” has never been a huge box office draw.
The original film did not do well theatrically, and “Tron: Legacy” only did about $400 million globally 15 years ago. A large audience is not there.
Jared Leto
Jared Leto has an iffy reputation as of late. From accusations of inappropriate behavior with young women, to poor performances in films like “Morbius” he just isn’t an actor a lot of people feel the need to go see.
“Tron” without Tron
This is a big one. “Tron: Legacy” still kind of had a connection to the original with Sam Flynn, but no Tron. Now “Tron: Ares” is once again “Tron” without Tron.
The Promotion was terrible
Other than a couple of good trailers, the promotion was fashion show-style photo shoots with the actors.
It got ridiculous, with even one promo using the Tron-style lighting as a runway. Whoever thought that was a great way to promote is out of touch with fans and reality.
Many people have said, “I didn’t even know there was a new ‘Tron’ movie coming out.”
There are a lot of reasons for the film’s poor performance. Critics did not give it a great score overall. While some Leto and “Tron” fans are reportedly going to see the film several times, most people aren’t bothering.
This one would look better on an IMAX screen than a home television, but many are going to wait for Disney+.
But blaming COVID is ridiculous.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
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