{"id":75043,"date":"2025-10-13T05:23:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T05:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/75043\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T05:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T05:23:08","slug":"tron-ares-tops-box-office-but-falls-short-of-expectations-with-33-5-million-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/75043\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Tron: Ares’ tops box office but falls short of expectations with $33.5 million debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 \u201cTron: Ares\u201d<\/a> powered up the box office grid in the top spot this weekend, but Disney\u2019s third entry in the sci-fi franchise fell short of expectations.<\/p>\n

Despite some favorable reviews \u2014 including a three-out-of-four-star one from The Associated Press<\/a> \u2014 the new \u201cTron\u201d film starring Jared Leto<\/a>, Greta Lee<\/a> and Jeff Bridges<\/a> earned $33.5 million, according to Comscore estimates on Sunday. The big-budget project, reported to cost around $150 million, arrived 15 years after \u201cTron: Legacy\u201d opened to $44 million before grossing more than $400 million globally.<\/p>\n

The latest chapter follows a battle between two powerful technology firms, Emcom and Dillinger, who face off against the same artificial intelligence barrier. Both can generate physical creations using laser-based 3D printers \u2014 but each creation lasts only 29 minutes before collapsing into ash. <\/p>\n

\u201cTron: Ares\u201d was packed with action and nostalgia, but it wasn’t enough to draw big numbers across more than 4,000 theaters. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been tough for that franchise to gain traction for it to become a big mega franchise,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. He noted that the original \u201cTron\u201d movie in 1982 initially struggled at the box office, but it ultimately grew a cult following. <\/p>\n

Dergarabedian said the international numbers could play a key role toward the film’s profitability. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt still topped the box office,\u201d he said. “It picked a solid release date. All eyes are on a big Disney film that is a huge brand, known and has been around for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn’t the only new release that struggled to connect.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoofman,\u201d<\/a> which starred Channing Tatum<\/a> and Kirsten Dunst in the blue-collar dramedy about a construction worker trying to rebuild his life, opened in second place with a modest $8 million debut.<\/p>\n

Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/a> came in third with $6.6 million. \u201c Gabby\u2019s Dollhouse: The Movie\u201d<\/a> held steady in fourth place with $3.3 million. The Netflix and DreamWorks family release \u2014 based on the popular preschool series \u2014 continues to perform well with younger audiences in its third weekend.<\/p>\n

In fifth, \u201cSoul on Fire\u201d debuted with $3 million. The faith-based drama tells the true story of burn survivor and motivational speaker John O\u2019Leary, featuring performances from Joel Courtney, William H. Macy and John Corbett.<\/p>\n

“The Conjuring: Last Rites”<\/a> followed with $2.9 million, marking another steady entry in Warner Bros.\u2019 long-running horror franchise.<\/p>\n

In seventh, \u201cDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba \u2013 Infinity Castle\u201d<\/a> brought in $2.2 million, continuing the anime franchise\u2019s strong theatrical momentum worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d<\/a> starring Dwayne Johnson as UFC legend Mark Kerr, added $1.7 million in eighth place.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the top 10 were \u201cThe Strangers: Chapter 2\u201d<\/a> with $1.5 million and \u201cGood Boy\u201d with $1.3 million.<\/p>\n

After a couple big weekends last month, the box office has taken a hit in October \u2014 a month that Dergarabedian calls a bridge month between summer and holiday movie seasons. He said this month is perfect for films like \u201cThe Smashing Machine\u201d and \u201cAfter the Hunt,\u201d which releases Oct. 17, to shine in their own way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re a movie fan, particularly in the indie, art house, award season types of film, this is a great month,\u201d he said. \u201cMoviegoers should embrace the eclectic offerings out there on the big screen.\u201d <\/p>\n

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cTron: Ares\u201d $33.5 million<\/p>\n

2. \u201cRoofman,\u201d $8 million.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d $6.6 million.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cGabby\u2019s Dollhouse: The Movie,\u201d $3.3 million.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cSoul on Fire,\u201d $3 million.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cThe Conjuring: Last Rites,\u201d $2.9 million.<\/p>\n

7. \u201cDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba \u2013 Infinity Castle,\u201d $2.2 million.<\/p>\n

8. \u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d $1.7 million.<\/p>\n

9. \u201cThe Strangers: Chapter 2,\u201d $1.5 million.<\/p>\n

10. \u201cGood Boy,\u201d $1.3 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 \u201cTron: Ares\u201d powered up the box office grid in the top…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[58771,1763,156,3717,409,111,139,69,20936,5021],"class_list":["post-75043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-58771","tag-article","tag-entertainment","tag-general-news","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-theater","tag-u-s-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75043","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=75043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}