Disney was just emerging out of a particularly damaging run in the mid-2010s — when the studio delivered mega-budget bombs such as Tomorrowland, The Lone Ranger, and John Carter — when along came The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Released in 2018, the movie was said to have resulted in losses amounting to $65 million for the studio, after surviving an infamously tumultuous production. The year 2025 will likely go down as one of Disney’s worst, with several major underperformers that haven’t quite been offset by the billion-dollar success of Lilo & Stitch. And although the Mouse House has two more Hail Marys lined up, it’s still dealing with the massive failure of Tron: Ares. The long-awaited sequel is hovering in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms territory, which should indicate just how poorly it has performed so far.
After having completed around two weeks in theaters, the film has grossed only around $57 million at the domestic box office, which now puts it above the $54 million that The Nutcracker and the Four Realms concluded its run with. The children’s film, partly based on the ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, had such a challenging production that the original director, Lasse Hallström, agreed to share credit with his replacement, Joe Johnston, for the extensive reshoots. Both filmmakers are sturdy studio hands, having helmed numerous big-budget movies throughout their careers. But their combined efforts couldn’t save The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
Reuniting Pride & Prejudice stars Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, the movie also featured Mackenzie Foy, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman. The talent behind the camera was just as impressive, with the Oscar-winning Linus Sandgren serving as cinematographer and James Newton Howard composing the score, which, by the way, was conducted by none other than Gustavo Dudamel. Produced on a reported budget of $130 million, the movie made around $170 million worldwide — a number that Tron: Ares has yet to hit.
‘Tron: Ares’ Continues Star Jared Leto’s Losing Streak
Starring Jared Leto, the science-fiction film is currently sitting at a global haul of $106 million, against a budget that has been reported to be as high as $220 million. Deadline recently claimed that the movie is set to lose over $130 million. This is a major setback for Disney, which has delivered underperformers such as Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Snow White, and Elio this year. But the media juggernaut can rely on the upcoming Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash to get things back on track. You can watch Ares in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
October 10, 2025
Runtime
119 minutes
Director
Joachim Rønning
Writers
Jesse Wigutow, David DiGilio, Steven Lisberger, Bonnie MacBird
Producers
Jared Leto, Jeffrey Silver, Sean Bailey, Steven Lisberger, Emma Ludbrook