Tron: Ares Box Office Passes Major Box Office Milestone Amid Disappointing Run

Tron: Ares has landed on a major chart in spite of its struggles at the box office. The new sci-fi feature is the third Tron movie and follows an AI being emerging into the real world. The cast of the Joachim Rønning-directed title includes returning star Jeff Bridges opposite Jared Leto, Evan Peters, Greta Lee, and Jodie Turner-Smith.

Per Box Office Mojo, Tron: Ares has hit a cumulative global box office total of $125.4 million, comprising $65.1 million from domestic theaters and an additional $60.3 million from international markets. This total still does not measure up to the movie’s reported budget of $180 million, which marks the biggest price tag for any installment, not adjusted for inflation.

However, this total makes Tron: Ares the 27th movie of the year so far to pass the $125 million milestone worldwide. It has surpassed a number of major 2025 titles, including Smurfs ($120.8 million), Karate Kid: Legends ($117 million), The Accountant 2 ($103.2 million), The Naked Gun ($102.1 million), Black Phone 2 ($86.6 million), and The Monkey ($68.9 million).

Because movies often need to earn back two and a half times their budgets in theaters, the sci-fi movie’s estimated break-even point could be as high as $450 million. However, the current trajectory of 2025’s Tron: Ares sees it landing below even that raw budget total of $180 million.

It likely would not have been feasible for Tron: Ares to have cost enough for it to have already broken even. In order for that to be the case, it would have needed to cost $50 million or less. This is not a reasonable budget for an effects-heavy IP tentpole, as this roughly amounts to the price tags of recent live-action biopics such as The Smashing Machine and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

Therefore, there is almost no way for the movie to have both existed in a manner in any way similar to its current form and performed well commercially at its current level. Additionally, while its budget could ultimately have been tighter, it was technically a less risky prospect than 2010’s Tron: Legacy, which cost $170 million, a total that amounts to $251.9 million when adjusted for inflation.

The reason this new installment exists in the first place is the fact that Legacy performed considerably better during its own theatrical run, grossing more than $400 million.

While the new movie could receive a boost from revenue earned by VOD, television, physical media, and streaming, its theatrical take is putting it at a huge disadvantage. This ultimately casts doubt on the prospects of Disney making the potential sequel that was promised by the ending of Tron: Ares.

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