This sci-fi action movie cost Disney over $100 million

Although Disney has had its fair share of success in 2025 and is poised to become the top-grossing distributor for the year, it hasn't all been a dip in the house of mice. As Marvel prepares for a stacked 2026 that includes the first Avengers movie in 7 years, a Avatar: Fire and Ashes will march toward $1 billion in January, there is one sore spot in the form Tron: Ares.

The third film in the Tron series, Tron: Ares it's likely to go down as a major disappointment for Disney, which will lose nearly $130 million on the Jared Leto vehicle. To say that Tron: Ares flop would be an understatement as the film couldn't even match half of its predecessor's worldwide box office, Tron: Legacywhich many considered to be their subpar sequel.

Tron: Ares by the numbers and compared to Legacy

So says the news Tron: Ares will cost Disney around $130 million in losses. At the time of writing, Tron: Ares has grossed $142 million worldwide. With a $73 million domestic and $68 million international split, it is the rare Disney feature that actually grossed more in the US than abroad. For a movie like this Tron: Ares, this is not good at all. Period

Fortnite leak reveals Tron: Ares cosmetics

Tron: Ares it didn't do well with critics either, earning only a 53% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it has an 83% user score, so viewers are enjoying the movie overall (more on that later).

In comparison, Tron: Legacy released 15 years ago and fared much better. It grossed $400 million worldwide ($172 million domestic, $228 million international) and is actually considered a financial disappointment as Disney had hoped for huge returns from the film. Surprisingly, Tron: LegacyRotten Tomatoes scores are worse than Areswith 51% of critics rating it positively and only 64% of users liking the film.

The fact that Tron: Ares failed to match or exceed Legacy's gross with the benefit of higher ticket prices speaks volumes for audience interest in the film. Yes, the moviegoing experience has changed dramatically since 2010, but there are plenty of premieres in 2025 that prove there is success in theaters. Disney even has the highest-grossing movie of the year (so far) in Lilo & Stitchthe only domestically produced film to cross the $1 billion mark in 2025.

Perhaps the biggest knock against Tron: Ares, in my opinion, is that it couldn't even beat it Morbius at the checkout. I'd be willing to admit that the Spider-Man and meme connection worked Morbius' favor, but word of mouth actively worked against it. Tron: Ares, on the other hand, didn't have the same negative buzz hanging over it.

What went wrong with Tron Ares?

Promotion of the film with Jeff Bridges

Even before its release, Tron: Ares seemed to be heading for disappointment, the buzz around the film is extremely low. I was in the audience when the first footage debuted at D23 2024, and the excitement surrounding the film focused on two places: Jeff Bridges and the duo of Reznor and Ross.

Bridges was a key player in Throne series from the very beginning, first as the star and then reprising his role as Kevin Flynn Heritage. His appearance in Ares was originally intended to be a surprise to fans, but Disney apparently felt that keeping it a secret could hurt the film's appeal. So Jeff Bridges joined the film's marketing efforts, including an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this summer.

To match the incredibly popular Daft Punk soundtrack Tron: LegacyDisney tapped Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails to compose the score for their trilogy. The Oscar-winning duo have plenty of fantastic soundtracks to their credit and even scored Naughty Dog's Intergalactic, so excitement was high when they were announced. Ares.

Jared Leto's Riddle

Note that none of the key selling points for Tron: Ares Jared Leto, movie star and producer, came out of D23. After Morbius flopped, it seemed like Leto wasn't a movie star that could draw in big numbers, and the Tron: Ares box office proves that to be the case once again. Even Disney seemed to know they had an uphill climb on their hands and tried to position other elements from the film (Bridges, Reznor/Ross, the visuals) as the main draw.

While Leto is not to blame alone Tron: AresThere is a general feeling in the performance that he did not bring the audience into the theater and perhaps actually kept them away. Morbius his case as the leading man wasn't helped by reports of his alleged behavior on set.

Do people actually like Tron that much?

It was the Tron name that was seemingly supposed to do a lot of the heavy lifting, but there seems to have been a fundamental misunderstanding of the appeal of the IP. original Throne it has gained cult status in the time since its release, but Jeff Bridges even admits that it didn't appeal to audiences when it first came out.

It almost felt like it Tron: Legacy Disney tested the waters to see who really appreciated it Throne name and the response was mild. So making another film that has nothing to do with any of its predecessors, has a completely new lead and offers a different atmosphere is a strange tactic.

Tron: Ares is actually not that bad

tron ares officer running game invader — Tron: Ares

And despite all that, I actually enjoyed it Tron: Ares more than I expected. Visually, it lives up to what Tron: Legacy established as a modern interpretation of The Grid, and the effects are stunning as the digital world merges with reality. The score is completely different than Legacyyes, but I think Reznor and Ross did a great send-up of the original Tron while still adapting it. It's not a great movie by any means, but it's the kind of fun popcorn spectacle I've come to expect from the next Tron adventure.

But no matter how one feels Tron: Aresit goes down as a failure for Disney in a year with a lot of success. It's a shame too because there's teasing Tron: Ares that would tie things together in an interesting way. I guess we'll have to wait another 15 years to see what happens next with The Grid.