As fans of the Tron franchise gear up to watch the latest installment, Tron: Ares, the series’ previous entry, Tron: Legacy, is experiencing an expected spike in interest on streaming. The film was released in 2010, but was deemed not successful enough to immediately warrant a sequel. It has taken Disney over a decade to get one off the ground, and that, too, with a completely different cast. Despite its supposedly underwhelming box office performance, however, Tron: Legacy quickly became a cult classic.
According to FlixPatrol, the film was among the 20 biggest movies on the domestic iTunes charts on October 10. It took the 17th spot on the list, which was topped by the recently released horror hit The Conjuring: Last Rites. Incidentally, both films made around the same amount at the box office. While The Conjuring 4‘s running global haul stands at $460 million, Tron: Legacy ended its run with around $410 million at the global box office. Disney was going through a particularly difficult time back then, with flops such as The Lone Ranger, Mars Needs Moms, Tomorrowland, and John Carter around the corner. Because those films flopped, the Tron: Legacy sequel was shelved.
The movie remains memorable not only for its landmark score by Daft Punk, but also for being the debut feature film by director Joseph Kosinski. He’d go on to make blockbusters such as Top Gun: Maverick and the recent F1. With a reported budget of $170 million, Tron: Legacy remains one of the most expensive directorial debuts of all time. It’s in the same ballpark as Carl Erik Rinsch‘s 47 Ronin and Rupert Sanders‘ Snow White and the Huntsman, both of which cost roughly the same amount.
‘Tron: Ares’ Earned Mixed Reviews
Starring Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and the original film’s star, Jeff Bridges, Tron: Legacy opened to mixed reviews. It’s currently sitting at a 51% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Tron: Legacy boasts dazzling visuals, but its human characters and story get lost amidst its state-of-the-art production design.” Bridges is returning as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Ares, which is headlined by Jared Leto and directed by Joachim Rønning. Produced on a reported budget of $180 million, the new movie has received mixed reviews as well, and is projected to gross around $40 million in its domestic debut.
You can watch Tron: Legacy at home and Tron: Ares in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
