411 Box Office Report: Tron: Ares Stumbles But Still Takes #1, Smashing Machine Sinks

Tron: Ares came up short of its expectations at the box office this weekend but was still able to claim the top spot. The third film in the sci-fi adventure franchise opened to $33.5 million. That’s well below the $40 million opening most expected it to do coming into the frame and is also below the $44 million opening of Tron: Legacy back in 2010.

Tron has always been more of a fond franchise for fans than a box office smash. Sure, Legacy grossed almost $400 million worldwide but that was against a $200 million budget and while the film has risen in esteem in recent years, it was viewed at the time as kind of a mess by both critics and fans. Ares is the same way, at least critically, with a 57% aggregate score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to 51% for Legacy Fans like it slightly more; while both films had a B+ CinemaScore, Ares has an 87% RT audience score compared to Legacy’s lukewarm 64%.

People can point to the mediocre critical buzz, or even the controversies around star Jared Leto who was accused by multiple people of past sexual misconduct in June. But the problem here is simple: Tron was always a niche franchise that Disney really wants to be a mainstream blockbuster. The films have never been smash hits on the level of the bigger sci-fi franchises, a situation that is aggravated by the fact that these movies have long delays between each entry.

Ares has several red flags in terms of box office success after its opening weekend. For one, the film cost almost as much as Legacy at $180 million (as usual, that’s not including marketing). Opening at about 75% of its predecessor’s numbers while having almost the same budget is not a good sign. The film also had somewhat higher drops from Friday to Sunday than Legacy did, which suggests that it may not have its predecessor’s legs.

On the other hand, Legacy did open solidly overseas with $27 million (compared to Legacy’s $23 million) with a major market left to open like China. So if this film at least minimizes its losses, that will be thanks to overseas numbers. Domestically it looks likely to close out around $100 million, a far sight from Legacy’s $172.1 million.

Tron wasn’t the only film that dipped below expectations as Roofman failed to hit the $10 million hopes that Paramount Pictures had for it. The Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst-led drama took in $8 million. There was some hope that this could break out a little bigger due to its positive buzz, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Roofman is based on a true story and is well-liked by critics (85% on RT) and fans (83% RT audience rating, B+ CinemaScore). So why aren’t audiences coming to see it? Blame the marketing, which didn’t do a great job of getting the word out. The film was not expensive even with some star power at just $19 million, so Paramount isn’t stressing this too much.

It should be noted that as of now, there’s no word on international grosses, and that’s in large part because the bigger markets are coming later. So that could absolutely help its final numbers. As of now, Roofman is looking to finish out domestically around $25 million and will need overseas money to break even in terms of pure theatrical. It will likely be profitable after digital.

One Battle After Another continued its fight toward breakeven, with the movie holding well. The Paul Thomas Anderson film added $6.7 million this weekend, down just 39% from last weekend’s numbers. At this point the film has $54.5 million domestically and $138 million worldwide. It is pacing right alongside Killers Of the Flower Moon which was at $52.2 million at the same point, but One Battle was cheaper with a $140 million budget. The domestic gross should end up at about $70 million, with the overseas numbers its best chance to minimize its theatrical losses long enough for some momentum to pick up for award season.

Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie stabilized after last weekend’s drop. The animated family film took in $3.4 million in its third frame, down 37%. This puts the movie at $26.4 million domestically and $46 million worldwide, and while it won’t be profitable strictly in theaters on its $38 million budget, this will be a hit on home viewing and the merchandising has already made it a worthy venture for Universal.

The latest faith-based film was Soul on Fire, which opened quietly at #5 with $3 million. Affirm Films’ drama based on the true story of John O’Leary, which was distributed by Sony Pictures, opened at about half of Affirm’s most recent previous film did in The Forge, which took in $6.7 million in August 2024.

As tends to be the case for faith-based dramas, the marketing was kept aimed directly at the core demographic and that means the P&A expenses are cheaper. The film has very few critic reviews with just seven on RT, but they’re mostly positive and those fans who watched it loved it at a 98% RT audience rating and A CinemaScore. That’s the norm rather than the exception to the rule for this genre. It’s not clear what Soul On Fire’s budget was but it will likely slip out of theaters quickly for its new home on digital, where it should prove profitable enough for all involved.

The Conjuring: Last Rites continues to roll along as it slipped a mere 29% in its sixth weekend to $2.9 million. The horror franchise entry now has $172.4 million domestically and $473 million worldwide, huge numbers against its $55 million budget. It looks to close out at around $180 million stateside.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle showed a bit more life in its fifth weekend, as the anime hit eased 37% to bring in $2.3 million. The film is the highest-grossing anime of all-time domestically with $128.6 million and worldwide with $648 million. It’s finishing out around $135 million in the US.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s The Smashing Machine followed up its soft opening with a big drop. The Mark Kerr biopic added $1.8 million to its purse, down a rough 69% from its soft start. That’s bad news for the movie and A24, who were hoping for some legs out of this MMA drama.

Smashing Machine is now at $10.2 million domestically and $13.3 million worldwide, poor numbers against a $50 million budget. It’s looking to be the lowest-grossing wide-release film of the WWE star’s career with a probable $16% million to $18 million domestic total.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 was off 46% in its third weekend with $1.6 million. That’s a deeper drop than Chapter 1’s third-weekend hold of 34%. Chapter 2 is now set up for a disappointing (but not money-losing) finish as it has $13.5 million domestically and $15.2 million worldwide against an $8.5 million budget. It should close out with around $16 million in the US.

IFC Films had a good hold with Good Boy, which closed out the top 10. The dog-starring horror film brought in $1.4 million, a very decent hold of 42% from last weekend. It has $4.9 million stateside and about the same worldwide (overseas grosses are at about ($64,000 thus far) and looks likely to at least match the $7.3 million that Clown In a Cornfield did in May. No word on the budget but it wasn’t high, and this is a profitable pickup for IFC and Shudder.

We’ll have a new #1 again next weekend, as Black Phone 2 is targeting around $25 million to $30 million. Also opening is the supernatural comedy Good Fortune, which should be in the high single digits, and Angel Studios’ World War II drama Truth & Treason which will start in the low single digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Tron: Ares – $33.5 million ($33.5 million total, $60 million WW)
2. Roofman – $8 million ($8 million total, $8 million WW)
3. One Battle After Another – $6.7 million ($54.5 million total, $138 million WW)
4. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie – $3.4 million ($26.4 million total, $46 million WW)
5. Soul On Fire – $3 million ($3 million total, $3 million WW)
6. The Conjuring: Last Rites – $2.9 million ($172.4 million total, $473 million WW)
7. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle – $2.3 million ($128.6 million total, $648 million WW)
8. The Smashing Machine – $1.8 million ($10.2 million total, $13.3 million WW)
9. The Strangers: Chapter 2 – $1.6 million ($13.5 million total, $15.2 million WW)
10. Good Boy – $1.4 million ($4.9 million total, $4.9 million WW)