Tron: Ares, the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic Tron: Legacy, has finished its run in theaters. And as such, the net profit of it can finally be calculated. According to multiple sources, the net profit of Tron: Ares is…
Around a $130 million loss. Yikes. Bad news for the long-time Tron fans. There might not be another Tron movie for a while.
But how did this happen? The movie had extensive marketing. The trailers looked great, and there were even some predictions floating around that it would have the biggest opening weekend of the franchise, though there were only two movies in it before the release of Tron: Ares.
To start on a positive note, the trailers were not lying about the visual effects. They were great. Maybe not Oscar-worthy, but in terms of visual effects, Tron: Ares stands out compared to most other movies that have been released this year.
Tron: Ares also had a great soundtrack, composed by the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Most critics considered the soundtrack to be a standout part of the film.
And this is where the list of good things ends. Tron: Ares got a total of four award nominations, and 3 of them were for the soundtrack (two of them are for the Grammy Awards), and one was for “Outstanding Technical Achievement” in the Directors Guild of Canada Awards.
Most of the movie’s criticism was directed towards its script. Most considered the story to be weak, as it was really just a battle between two corporations without any emotional depth or deeper meaning. It also barely built upon Tron: Legacy despite it being a sequel, leaving the two movies unconnected, which did not satisfy fans of Tron: Legacy, who felt that Tron: Ares was an unnecessary sequel.
There was also criticism of the casting, primarily directed at Jared Leto. Jared Leto, who stars as the main character Ares, a computer program that can materialize in the real world, has faced criticism in recent years. There have been allegations of him being in or running a cult, and he isn’t considered to be a box office draw like some other big actors.
The problems with the script and the casting of Jared Leto may have already turned away potential fans. But the movie also faced a problem unrelated to its script: the Jimmy Kimmel boycott.
After Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney, a boycott against Disney began. While the outcome of it is debatable, Disney also produced Tron: Ares. The boycott against Disney may have convinced those participating in it to avoid watching Tron: Ares, which may have contributed to its flopping at the box office.
However, at the end of the day, unless a movie is directed at kids or is just generally fun to watch, it will flop if the general public does not like it. And this happened with Tron: Ares. Great visual effects isn’t something that is special today. Many movies are now visually great, and as such, it takes more than that to succeed at the box office. And unfortunately, Tron: Ares didn’t have a good script, and its casting choices were not great either. While the Jimmy Kimmel boycott may have cost the movie some money, most of its failures stemmed from its lackluster plot and script.
