{"id":72316,"date":"2025-10-11T17:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T17:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/72316\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T17:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T17:02:08","slug":"ares-comes-in-dim-on-opening-day-roofman-in-second","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/72316\/","title":{"rendered":"Ares’ Comes in Dim on Opening Day, ‘Roofman’ in Second"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDisney\u2019s \u201cTron: Ares<\/a>\u201d will light up the top of the box office in its debut, though the sci-fi entry is coming in dimmer than its projections. Meanwhile, the Channing Tatum caper \u201cRoofman<\/a>\u201d looks headed for a second place bow.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cTron\u201d threequel earned $14.3 million across Friday and previews from 4,000 venues (that includes early access screenings on Wednesday ahead of the wider traditional Thursday rollout.) Pre-weekend tracking had forecast a debut north of $45 million \u2014 a range that\u2019s now likely well out of reach. It\u2019s also pacing behind the prior series entry \u201cTron: Legacy,\u201d which nabbed a $17.5 million opening day in 2010 on its way to a $44 million first frame. Reviews have been mediocre for \u201cAres,\u201d while audiences were slightly more positive. Survey firm Cinema Score polled a \u201cB+\u201d grade among moviegoers.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a slow start for Disney, which spent a big $180 million on the PG-13 franchise revival. Pegged as one of the few big-budget IP plays to release between the summer and Thanksgiving, \u201cAres\u201d is banking on international audiences to hit a profit in theaters. \u201cTron\u201d has always been something between retro cult object and commercial force. The original was only the 22nd-biggest North American release of 1982, while \u201cLegacy\u201d hit $400 million globally against a $170 million budget.<\/p>\n

\n\tFranchise newcomers Jared Leto, Greta Lee and Evan Peters lead \u201cTron: Ares,\u201d with the series\u2019 original star Jeff Bridges returning as Kevin Flynn. Joachim R\u00f8nning directs, after serving as a steady hand for Disney on the final \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d entry, a \u201cMaleficent\u201d sequel and the Daisy Ridley drama \u201cYoung Woman and the Sea.\u201d Disney marketing has also emphasized the original score by Nine Inch Nails, after Daft Punk was celebrated for its work on \u201cTron: Legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount\u2019s \u201cRoofman\u201d is also coming in on the lower side of tracking, after earning $3.25 million across Friday and previews from 3,362 locations. The ripped-from-the-headlines comedic thriller is hoping to meet its pre-weekend forecast for a debut of at least $8 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tMiramax developed, produced and financed the R-rated \u201cRoofman\u201d on a slim $19 million budget and Paramount put some promotional force behind it with a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film has enjoyed good critical buzz, while Cinema Score turned in a \u201cB+\u201d grade. The studio hopes that will translate into solid word-of-mouth after a modest debut.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBlue Valentine\u201d and \u201cThe Place Beyond the Pines\u201d director Derek Cianfrance went for something sunnier with \u201cRoofman,\u201d which stars Tatum as a friendly criminal who robbed dozens of McDonald\u2019s locations before escaping prison and living in a Toys \u201cR\u201d Us. The ensemble is a deep bench, with Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Ben Mendelsohn and Uzo Aduba.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso opening this weekend, Sony is releasing Affirm Films\u2019 \u201cSoul on Fire\u201d at 1,720 locations. The drama, a return to faith-based true stories from \u201cSoul Surfer\u201d director Sean McNamara, is vying for a fifth place bow after earning $1.3 million across Friday and previews. Projections are for a $3 million opening weekend. The target audience loves it, turning in an \u201cA\u201d grade on Cinema Score.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, \u201cKiss of the Spider Woman<\/a>\u201d is barely registering after earning just $343,000 across Friday and previews in a semi-wide release of 1,330 locations. It will struggle to open in the top 10. The R-rated adaptation of the Tony-winning Kander and Ebb musical debuted in January at the Sundance Film Festival to respectful reviews, but was only acquired in March by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. The production was independently financed for more than $30 million; the theatrical release won\u2019t be profitable for the film\u2019s backers after an opening like this. Jennifer Lopez, Gabriel Luna and Tonatiuh star, while Bill Condon directs.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn its third Friday, Warner Bros.\u2019 awards season pony \u201cOne Battle After Another<\/a>\u201d earned $2 million \u2014 showing a 41% drop from its daily total a week ago. The very contemporary epic, from auteurist favorite Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, lost what premium large formats auditoriums it still had to \u201cTron: Ares.\u201d It\u2019s headed for another good hold, but with a $49.8 million domestic total after 15 days, the path to theatrical profitability looks ever narrower for the expensive R-rated original. Maybe it can have the last laugh at the Oscars.<\/p>\n

\n\tUniversal\u2019s \u201cGabby\u2019s Dollhouse: The Movie\u201d is staying in fourth with $920,000 on Friday and projections for a $3.7 million third weekend, down just 30% from its last outing. Domestic total looks to hit just $26.7 million through Sunday on the $32 million DreamWorks Animation production.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill vying for the top five, \u201cThe Conjuring: Last Rites\u201d earned another $900,000 on Friday, down just 27% from its daily total last week. Over a month into its run, Warner Bros. and New Line\u2019s horror sequel has now hit a $170.4 million domestic total.<\/p>\n

\n\tNotably, the bottom is falling out on \u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d which failed to register last weekend with a third place opening of $5.9 million. The Dwayne Johnson drama, directed by Benny Safdie and positioned as an awards hopeful, earned about $530,000 on Friday for a sharp 72% plummet from its daily total a week ago. Representing A24\u2019s most expensive production yet, at a $50 million budget, it is fading fast from theaters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disney\u2019s \u201cTron: Ares\u201d will light up the top of the box office in its debut, though the sci-fi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,57113,409,111,139,69,26870,9316,3133],"class_list":{"0":"post-72316","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-kiss-of-the-spider-woman","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-one-battle-after-another","15":"tag-roofman","16":"tag-tron-ares"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}