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‘Tron’ Fails the Franchise Test

Disney’s ‘Tron: Ares’ shows what happens when studios keep resurrecting half-dead I.P., mistaking brand recognition for audience demand, and doubling down on nostalgia plays that nobody asked for.

Tron Ares movie
'Tron: Ares' is just the latest example of Hollywood refusing to give up on a franchise until the evidence is irrefutable. Photo: Leah Gallo/© Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Scott Mendelson
October 14, 2025

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Let’s be honest: Tron was never an A-level franchise. Even when it debuted to Disney-sized fanfare in 1982, it only grossed $33 million domestically ($111 million in today’s dollars), behind such classics as Friday the 13th: Part III and the Burt Reynolds–Goldie Hawn rom-com Best Friends. Its 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy, positioned as an Avatar/Lord of the Rings–level event, barely cracked $400 million worldwide (nearly $600 million today) on a $170 million budget. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Disney’s latest lukewarm offering, the almost $200 million Tron: Ares, opened this weekend to an anemic $33.2 million in North America and $60.5 million globally.