Despite a large-scale advertising campaign, the return of the «Tron» franchise failed to attract a wide audience.
The Disney film «Tron: Ares» started its box office run noticeably below expectations, grossing $33.5 million in the USA and $60.5 million worldwide. These results are significantly lower than forecasts: analysts expected the film to gross between $45 and $50 million in North America, and the global start to exceed $90 million in its opening weekend.
The science fiction film starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jeff Bridges, and Gillian Anderson was conceived as a reboot of the franchise 15 years after the release of «Tron: Legacy» (2010). However, if audience interest does not increase in the coming weeks, the project risks turning into losses.
According to Variety, the film's production budget was about $180 million — not including marketing. The campaign included collaborations with Fortnite, Minecraft, as well as partnerships with the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB). However, even the use of premium formats like IMAX did not help attract a wide audience.
As a result, the film's opening gross is inferior to both «Tron: Legacy», which grossed $44 million in the USA (not adjusted for inflation), and even «Morbius» with the same Jared Leto, which earned $39 million at the start.
At the same time, viewers, unlike critics, received the film noticeably warmer: according to the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator, the audience rating was 87%, while only 57% of critics rated the film positively.
