Credit: DisneyIt’s a bad day to be Tron. Or is it?
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While Disney has certainly faced challenges at the box office in recent years, few releases have proven to be as disappointing as Tron: Ares. The third feature-length Tron film comes nearly 15 years after 2010’s Tron: Legacy and 43 years after the original Tron, but it doesn’t seem to have stirred up any more interest in the franchise.
In total, Tron: Ares grossed a little over $100 million in the roughly two-week window after its release, dizzying numbers considering the film’s massive production budget.
Estimated to have cost Disney $220 million, Tron: Ares faced an uphill battle from the start.
The Tron franchise has never been a big winner for Disney anyway, with the previous two installments also suffering a similar fate. The original Tron (1982) was panned by critics but managed to scoop up a respectable $50 million at the box office.
Over the years, the original Tron became a cult classic, spawning toy lines, video games, and eventually a proper sequel: Tron: Legacy (2010). A similar story to the original, Tron Legacy proved to be a visual treat, but one that not many people actually showed up for on release.
Tron: Ares marks a sharp decline in interest in the franchise, a worrying sign for its future. Some insiders claim Tron is dead. However, some also claim the entire film was just an advertisement for Disney’s Tron-themed roller coaster in Orlando.
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According to Deadline, those close to the project believe that Tron: Ares was essentially one big ad for Tron Lightcycle / Run at Walt Disney World. Despite the coaster being tied to a relatively niche IP, it ranks as one of Disney’s most popular attractions.
Tron Lightcycle / Run officially opened at Disney’s Florida resort on April 4, 2023, and while much more modern than anything at Magic Kingdom, it quickly slipped into its own groove at the park.
Standing side by side to Disney World’s iconic Space Mountain coaster, Tron Lightcycle / Run has a fascinating history. Copied from Shanghai Disneyland’s version of the ride, which opened in 2016, Florida’s take on the coaster took much longer to complete than initially planned.
Disney announced in 2017 that a version of the ride was coming to Disney World. However, construction would move slowly until 2020, when Walt Disney World and the rest of Disney’s theme parks shut down completely.
Tron was hardly the only project delayed but was among the most visible to guests. Tron’s construction cycle became a joke within the Disney theme park community, with some worrying about the coaster being finished. Eventually, the ride did open and is now considered one of the best coasters at the resort.
What becomes of the Tron franchise is uncertain, but guests can at least count on Lightcycle / Run being open at Magic Kingdom for the foreseeable future.
Are you a Tron fan?