Third time's not the charm.

Disney tried again in making the Tron franchise happen, and the result was one of the year's biggest flops. Paramount's Roofman also debuted with solid numbers, although it also shows the difficulty of selling original comedies. And Jennifer Lopez had one of her worst debuts as lead star with Kiss of the Spider Woman.

The Top 10 earned a combined $64.0 million this weekend. That's slightly down from last year, when Terrifier 3 opened with an impressive debut, and Joker: Folie à Deux collapsed a steep 81.4%.

Debuting at #1, Disney's Tron: Ares flopped with just $33.2 million in 4,000 theaters. That's below Tron: Legacy's debut ($44.0 million), which is crazy considering this had so much inflation on its side. There's no point comparing it to the 1982 in terms of opening weekend.

Given that this cost $180 million ($10 million more than Legacy), it's absolutely disappointing that Ares opened below it. In fact, the performance is eerily similar to the box office failure of Blade Runner 2049: a sci-fi sequel released in October with a $180 million budget, but it could only open to $32.7 million.

There was a time for a Tron film, and it seems like Disney just waited too long to capitalize on it, and also took multiple wrong decisions. First, 15 years is way too long to release a sequel. Yes, Legacy released 28 years later, but Disney effectively sold the film as an original piece that would intrigue newcomers and also attract old fans. For many, this was probably the first Tron, so Ares lacked the novelty aspect.

But there's a bigger problem, and it's that Tron is just not a very successful franchise in terms of box office. The original Tron made over $50 million worldwide back in 1982, but Disney was reportedly disappointed with its performance, which is why they didn't pursue a sequel. It wasn't until 2005, when Sean Bailey advocated for the film after it garnered a cult following. The result was Tron: Legacy in 2010, but even though it made $409 million worldwide, the high costs once again disappointed Disney. So you can see that the franchise has performed the studio's expectations twice.

While Legacy also grew on to earn a cult following, Disney didn't really chase the audience. In March 2015, they finally greenlit a Legacy sequel, with Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde reprising their roles, and Joseph Kosinski returning as director. But just two months later, they scrapped the film after the failure of Tomorrowland. And so everyone involved moved to different projects.

Until in 2017, Jared Leto began circling a new Tron film. It didn't fully gain traction until 2023, when Joachim Rønning signed as director, with Leto serving as producer. But the film's lack of connection to Legacy ended up hurting the film; while it could help a newcomer join the film without watching the prior films, it also lost fans of the previous film. Hell, even Jeff Bridges' presence was limited in the marketing and in the final product.

The film was also hurt by its Leto connection; he's not really well-regarded by audiences, and sexual misconduct accusations from a few months ago also signaled problem. Double-edged sword though; if Leto didn't advocate and produce, the film wouldn't exist. The marketing was also a mixed bag; they highlighted that the Grid was coming to the real world, when the appeal of Tron is staying in the Grid. And the film's mediocre reception (56% on RT) was the nail in the coffin. It lost Legacy fans, and it didn't really intrigue non-fans.

According to Disney, 68% of the audience was male. Gen Z and Millennials were its biggest audience; 52% was 18-34. No interest in the people who watched the original back in 1982 though; only 25% of the audience was 45 and over. They gave it a middling "B+" on CinemaScore, the exact same score as the previous films. It has no holiday legs to hold well like Legacy, and it's unlikely it adds new fans in the next few weeks when it loses IMAX and PLF. For now, a $85 million domestic total for Ares is likely. Very, very poor numbers. It means it will have less attendance than the original Tron ($110 million adjusted).

In second place, Paramount's Roofman debuted with $8.1 million in 3,362 theaters. This is director Derek Cianfrance's biggest debut, overtaking The Place Beyond the Pines ($4.9 million), although in fairness, he never had a single film playing in more than 1,600 theaters. The debut was above Channing Tatum's previous film Blink Twice ($7.3 million), but below Fly Me to the Moon ($9.4 million).

The budget was kept low at $19 million, so this is a solid debut. It simply shows how difficult it can be to sell comedies, especially when it also involves crime. Even with its crazy real-life story, which was plastered all over the marketing, the audience was very limited in giving it a chance. Even though Paramount tried to build buzz by sending it to Toronto, it was still a challenge even with great reviews on its side (85% on RT).

According to Paramount, 53% of the audience was male, and its biggest audience was women over 25 at 38%, thanks to Tatum's presence. They gave it a "B+" on CinemaScore, which is solid for a film like this. These kinds of films are noted for holding well, and with a weak October ahead, perhaps it could have a decent run. For now, Roofman should hit close to $30 million domestically.

Even though it lost IMAX and PLF screens, One Battle After Another had a better drop than last week. It eased just 38%, adding $6.8 million this weekend. That takes its domestic total to $54.6 million, and it should continue holding well for the rest of the month.

After its steep drop last week, Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie recovered by dropping 35%, for a $3.5 million weekend. The film has earned $26.5 million domestically, and it should finish with a little above $35 million domestically.

In fifth place, The Conjuring: Last Rites dropped just 25% this weekend, for a $3.1 million weekend. The film's domestic total stands at $172.6 million.

Sony released Soul on Fire in 1,720 theaters, earning an okay $2.8 million this weekend. Even with an "A" on CinemaScore, it'd be a surprise if it reached $10 million.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle dropped 36%, for a $2.2 million weekend. With $128.6 million, it has officially passed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ($128.5 million) to become the biggest non-English film domestically.

A24's The Smashing Machine had a very poor debut last week, and its second weekend reflects that audiences are abandoning the ship as soon as possible. The film collapsed all the way to eighth place with a horrible 69%, which is a pathetic $1.7 million weekend. That translates to a very weak $541 per-theater average. A drop like this is not surprising, considering the film's divisive word of mouth. Through 10 days, the film has earned an abysmal $9.8 million. With such a poor per-theater average, it's gonna lose tons of theaters this week. The film is now guaranteed to miss $15 million domestically, and could even miss $12 million depending on its drop next week. It's gonna be Dwayne Johnson's worst ever wide release. It's crazy that despite its high $50 million budget, the film is not gonna be in A24's top 25 highest grossing films.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 dropped 42%, adding $1.6 million this weekend. Its domestic total stands at $13.5 million, and it doesn't have much left in the tank.

Rounding out the top 10 was IFC's Good Boy. It dropped a pretty good 40%, for a $1.4 million weekend. Through 10 days, the film has made $4.9 million so far.

The Long Walk continues holding well. It eased just 39%, grossing $1 million. That took its domestic total to $33.9 million.

In 12th place, Roadside Attractions' Kiss of the Spider Woman flopped with an abysmal $891,046 in 1,331 theaters. That's Jennifer Lopez's worst ever wide debut, and it translates to a meager $669 per-theater average. Unsurprisingly, the film just couldn't connect with audiences. With little award buzz, the film is going to disappear quickly from theaters. Needless to say, it won't come anywhere close to the 1985 original's domestic gross ($17 million).

Amazon MGM released Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt in 6 theaters. It earned $158,679, which is a solid $26,447 per-theater average. It's set to expand into around 1,200 theaters this weekend.

A24 also released If I Had Legs I'd Kick You in 4 theaters. It earned $89,164, averaging $22,291 in each theater. It will continue adding theaters in the next few weeks.

OVERSEAS

Tron: Ares also got off to a very weak start outside America. It opened with just $26.7 million overseas, for a very poor $59.9 million worldwide debut. It had very soft to mediocre debuts in Mexico ($2.9M), the UK ($2.4M), France ($1.9M), Australia ($1.5M) and Germany ($1.4M). Given its massive $180 million budget, the film's path to profitability is going to be insanely hard. Nowhere close to Legacy's $409 million worldwide finish. We'd like to say that this is the nail in the coffin for the franchise, but let's face it, we'll probably see another one in 15-20 years.

One Battle After Another added $15 million this weekend, taking its worldwide total to $138.1 million. The best markets are the UK ($11.2M), France ($8.5M), Germany ($6.4M), Italy ($4.4M) and Australia ($4M). It reaches its final market, China, this week.

Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie added $7 million, for a $46.3 million worldwide total. Its best markets are Australia ($2.9M), Mexico ($2M), Italy ($1.7M), France ($1.1M) and Poland ($1.1M).

The Conjuring: Last Rites has crossed $300 million overseas, and its worldwide total is now $473 million. Best markets are Mexico ($30.5M), the UK ($24.1M), France ($22.3M), Brazil ($17.5M) and Germany ($16.4M).

With $648 million worldwide, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is now officially the fifth biggest film of the year.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

Movie Release Date Studio Domestic Opening Domestic Total Worldwide Total Budget A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Sep/19 Sony $3,252,578 $6,671,082 $20,171,082 $45M There's nothing beautiful about this. Sony's A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has closed after just 3 weeks with an abysmal $6 million domestically and $20 million worldwide. A big failure, even considering its mid $45 million budget. A huge, huge stain in the careers of Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, and director Kogonada. Even with the talent, poor reviews and word of mouth sank the film. Ouch.

THIS WEEKEND

Universal is releasing Blumhouse's Black Phone 2. Despite the original's ending, Ethan Hawke is back, going full Freddy Krueger mode. Given that it surprised everyone by grossing $161 million worldwide, a sequel felt inevitable. But there's still questions over whether the audience is on board with a sequel, and Blumhouse's brand has taken a massive dive in the past year with so many failures. Will this save them?

Lionsgate is releasing Aziz Ansari's directorial debut Good Fortune, starring Ansari, Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves. It seeks to bring comedy into theaters, with a fantasy angle (a guardian angel causes a body swap and shenanigans ensue). It had a solid response in Toronto (83% on RT), but it remains to be seen if audiences will show up.

In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics is releasing Richard Linklater's Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott. With high acclaim (97% on RT, 78 on Metacritic), look for this to have one of the year's strongest per-theater averages.

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