“Tron: Ares” has helped mitigate a box office slowdown that is expected to last through October, but is looking like it will be added to the “down” portion of Disney’s up-and-down year with a $33.5 million domestic opening and $60 million worldwide.
For comparison, that is below the $44 million opening before inflation of “Tron: Legacy” back in December 2010. Among Disney’s releases this year, it is also below the $42 million opening of the studio’s spring bomb, “Snow White.”
Reception-wise, “Tron: Ares” has been received similarly to “Tron: Legacy” with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 55% critics and 86% audience with a B+ on CinemaScore. While there are no other tentpole blockbusters out in theaters this month, it’s very unlikely unlikely that “Ares” will match the $400 million global total of “Legacy” simply because it will not have the holiday corridor that its predecessor took advantage of to leg out.
With a reported $180 million production budget, “Tron: Ares” looks like it will join films like “Elio” and “Snow White” among the misfires Disney has had to endure this year. Fortunately for the studio and for theaters, Disney is set to end the year on a high note with two expected $1 billion-plus blockbusters: “Zootopia 2” in November and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” in December.
In second is Paramount/Miramax’s “Roofman” with an $8 million opening weekend from 3,362 theaters. While an underwhelming start for the well-reviewed true crime tragicomedy starring Channing Tatum, it has a low break-even point with a $19 million production budget financed by Miramax.
Audience reception has been generally positive for “Roofman” with a B+ on CinemaScore, 4/5 on PostTrak, and 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, so there is a possibility for some modest legs if Tatum’s primarily female fanbase gets onboard to see him bring his charm to a more dramatic role as a convicted thief who escapes prison and hides inside a Toys ‘R Us for several months.
The big bust of the weekend is Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which failed to gross even $1 million with just $840,000 from 1,300 screens. The Bill Condon musical was independently financed for $34 million before being acquired by Roadside and Lionsgate for an undisclosed sum.
Among holdovers, Warner Bros.’ “One Battle After Another” is third with $6.7 million in its third weekend, firmly placing Paul Thomas Anderson’s film in the situation of needing post-theatrical revenue during its impending Oscar candidacy to turn a profit for Warner with a running total of $54.5 million domestic and $138 million worldwide.
Universal/DreamWorks’ “Gabby’s Dollhouse” is in fourth with $3.3 million as it continues its underwhelming run with just $26.4 million in domestic grosses. Warner Bros./New Line’s “The Conjuring: Last Rites” completes the top 5 with $3 million in its sixth weekend, bringing its total to $172.5 million domestic and $473 million worldwide.
Farther down the charts, several specialty titles are quickly falling by the wayside. The one decent result comes from Sony’s faith-based film “Soul on Fire,” which is neck-and-neck with “Conjuring” for the No. 5 spot with a $3 million opening from 1,720 theaters. The film tells the true story of John O’Leary, a survivor of a fire that burned his entire body as a child and left him with prosthetic fingers.
But other titles aren’t doing so well. A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” which opened to just $5.9 million, is sinking fast with just $1.8 million in its second weekend for a $10 million total for the Dwayne Johnson MMA biopic. Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to theaters with Focus Features’ “Anemone” is faring worse with a paltry $136,000 from 879 theaters for a total of just $1.1 million after two weekends.
Overall grosses for the weekend are set to come in at $72 million, consistent with the middling business the box office has seen for the past four weeks.
More to come…
