- Tron: Ares £1,790,651 – NE
Fifteen years after Tron: Legacy promised a digital revolution, Tron: Ares booted up at the UK box office with more of a polite login than a system shock. The long-delayed sequel opened below its 2010 predecessor and closer to Disney’s other high-budget curios like Tomorrowland, John Carter, and The Lone Ranger — expensive reminders that spectacle means little without soul.
Took £527k 29.44% Friday; £744k 41.56% Saturday; £519k 28.99% Sunday; £173k Monday #2
1,028th biggest opening between Me Before You and White Noise (close to Deep Impact, Battle: Los Angeles, Cowboys & Aliens and Gemini Man) and 1,560th inflated biggest between Misery and Notes on a Scandal (close to Falling Down, Contact, Déjà Vu and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home).
29th biggest 2025 opening between The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday (close to The Bad Guys 2, The Salt Road, Ballerina and Materialists)
Probably took 50%+ from IMAX/PLF/3D/4DX as it took 67% of its US opening from those formats; so, I Swear probably had more admissions opening third with 153,198.
243rd widest opening in 609 cinemas similar to The Conjuring: Last Rites, Sinners and Doctor Sleep (close to Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, Independence Day: Resurgence, Dog Man and Inside Out).
2010’s Tron Legacy opened £1,970,692/£2,623,173, taking £10,069,754/£13,403,773
Reviews have said the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack is great, looks stunning, but the film is average, lots of plot, and it’s dull; this was similar to Tron: Legacy, with Daft Punk’s soundtrack being vastly superior to the film.
Joachim Rønning previously directed.
2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opened £5,238,049, taking £19,537,127 (the lowest grossing POTC film in the UK)
2019’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil opened £3,300,000 taking £14,773,607 (took third less than Maleficent)
While Disney dumped Young Woman And The Sea, opening £64,138 #13 81 screens in May 2024
After Joseph Kosinski directed Tron: Legacy and then directed Oblivion (opened £4,959,386), Top Gun: Maverick (£15,931,497) and F1 (£7,071,647). Why did Disney get Joachim Rønning to direct Tron: Ares after all of his other Disney films struggled at the box office? Surely it was a sign Disney had no real interest in making a third Tron film, along with the 15-year gap from the second film.
When a Disney film underperforms, it has a massive impact as their budgets are huge ($200m+ for Tron: Ares) and have a big impact as they release far fewer films than their rivals and open similarly to their biggest recent flops over the last 15 years.
2015’s Tomorrowland opened £1,482,178 taking £4,971,372
2012’s John Carter opened £1,960,414/£2,437,438, taking £4,643,786/£5,773,750
2013’s The Lone Ranger opened £1,342,196/£1,627,901, taking £4,090,415/£4,961,116
15 years on from Tron: Legacy would surely have expected Tron: Ares to open similarly to
2017’s Blade Runner 2049 opened £6,071,625, taking £18,820,009
2018’s Ready Player One opened £5,113,041, taking £16,114,011
2013’s Oblivion opened £4,959,386/£6,015,059 taking £10,486,465/£12,718,653
2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence opened £2,285,786/£4,372,808, taking £8,027,562/£15,357,075
1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day opened £2,337,980/£6,111,156, taking £18,179,609/£47,518,978
As well as
2011’s Battle Los Angeles opened £1,792,913/£2,343,213 taking £4,638,239 £6,061,857
2015’s Ex Machina opened £1,093,952/£1,201,678, taking £2,890,149/£3,174,755
Ahead of the opening of Tron: Ares, Jared Leto stood on top of Piccadilly Circus to promote Tron: Ares – The Immersive Experience, a one-day free event at the start of October, but these stunts play to existing fans. Jared Leto has co-starred in many films, including House of Gucci, Blade Runner 2049, and Suicide Squad, but after 2022’s Morbius (opened £3,254,830, taking £6,436,994) showed he couldn’t open a film.
Why did Disney package Tron: Ares around him? Will ask the same question next summer when he stars in Masters of the Universe for MGM. Of course, studios are always trying to turn arthouse/supporting actors into leading actors, and it sometimes works, but many will never cross over, as audiences can’t see them as leading actors.
- 2. One Battle After Another £1,241,615 – £8,323,649
£334k 26.9% (-37.2% £553k) Friday; £537k 43.3% (-36.9% £851k) Sat; £370k 29.8% (-37.4% £591k) Sun.
Dropped 37.1% in its third weekend.
503rd biggest third weekend between Apollo 13 and Forrest Gump (close to Knives Out, Three Billboards Outside, The Last Samurai and Tenet) and 802nd biggest inflated third weekend between Australia and Phone Booth (close to Dead Poets Society, Labyrinth, The Rock and Rush).
Impossible to compare One Battle After Another with other Paul Thomas Anderson films, as it’s a vastly different release.
1998’s Boogie Nights dropped 24.4% £608,880/£1,196,608 and £1,893,411 of £4,325,540/£8,500,813
2000’s Magnolia dropped 46.9% £196,780/£354,204 and £803,327 of £997,977/£1,796,358
2002’s Punch-Drunk Love took £322,921
2008’s There Will Be Blood expanded into 181 screens £540,472 and £888,968, taking £4,392,471/£6,690,071
2012’s The Master took £1.21m
2014’s Inherent Vice dropped 61% £147,087 #13 from 175 screens taking £739,232
2017’s Phantom Thread dropped 40% £434,351 #11 from 192 screens £1,658,992 taking £2,708,717
2022’s Licorice Pizza dropped 55.2% £393,988 and £1,527,797 of £2,294,561
Since Leonardo DiCaprio won the Best Actor Oscar for 2016’s The Revenant dropped 40.9% £2,278,262 and £16,094,354, 70.40% of £23,257,319
2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood dropped 12.7% £1,841,873 and £16,395,349 78.63% of £20,851,025); 2021’s Don’t Look Up (watched by 171.4m on Netflix)
2023’s Killers Of The Flower Moon dropped 24.2% £1,142,745 and £7,761,802, 80.3% of £9,886,049
After Christopher Nolan opted to make Oppenheimer at Universal Pictures, Warner Bros have been trying to make the studio the home of “home of auteurs” acquiring original projects from Paul Thomas Anderson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bong Joon Ho, Ryan Coogler, signing Tom Cruise to make original and franchise (Edge of Tomorrow 2 is expected to start filming next year) and JJ Abrams next film.
912th biggest between Closer and Fame (close to A Few Good Men, Waterworld, The Commitments and The Rock) and 1,456th biggest inflated between Star Trek X: Nemesis and Double Jeopardy (close to Jarhead, Leon, Point Break (1991) and The Sum Of All Fears)
- 3. I Swear £1,185,756 – NE
Included £128,165 from previews.
I, Swear proved that human connection still sells, due to glowing reviews and word-of-mouth that made it feel like the only film this weekend running on heart rather than hard drive.
Took £311k 26.24% Friday; £428k 36.12% Saturday; £446k 37.64% Sunday; £189k Monday #1
1,532nd biggest opening between V for Vendetta and Arthur and the Invisibles (close to Haywire, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Fight Club and All Of Us Strangers) and 2,163rd inflated biggest opening between Buster and Tiger 3 (close to The Usual Suspects, Killing Them Softly, A Clockwork Orange (re-issue) and Pacific Heights).
37th biggest 2025 opening between Smurfs and The Long Walk (close to The Salt Road, Materialists, The Amateur and Marching Powder).
The second biggest opening for Studiocanal in 2025, after We Live In Time, was £2,843,516
Received an 87% ‘excellent’ rating from PostTrak audience score – the highest on record.
128th widest opening in 654 cinemas, similar to Six The Musical, Disney’s Snow White, Yesterday and Stan and Ollie.
Part of I, Swear’s success comes from how instinctively it understands the British mood. Director Kirk Jones, whose Waking Ned Devine (1997) turned small-town eccentricity into quiet triumph, hasn’t lost his sense of humanity — he’s simply traded whimsy for reflection. What could have been another grim morality tale instead carries that same warmth and dry wit that once defined Ealing comedies and 1990s feel-good hits like The Full Monty.
British audiences have grown wary of “misery cinema.” Over the last decade, they’ve embraced films that still tackle working-class struggle but leave space for tenderness: Boiling Point found dignity in pressure, All of Us Strangers in longing. I, Swear fits that lineage — not a denial of hardship, but a reclaiming of empathy.
Robert Aramayo’s performance anchors it: understated, introspective, shaped by the kind of emotional honesty rarely given to young male leads in British drama. Viewers recognised the vulnerability; they saw someone processing guilt rather than performing it.
That combination — a seasoned director rediscovering his warmth and an actor embodying a new kind of masculinity — bridged generations. For older audiences, it recalled a lost gentleness in British storytelling; for younger viewers, it felt startlingly modern. In the end, I, Swear didn’t just surprise critics; it reminded people that redemption stories still have a place on British screens.
Kirk Jones previously directed 1999’s Walking Ned (opened £911,901/£1,715,500, taking £6,709,513/£12,622,172
I Swear is an inspirational film about overcoming the adversity of neurological conditions. The film was released on the 36th anniversary of John’s Not Mad BBC documentary, made in 1989, about John Davidson.
It was surprising that Studiocanal opened I Swear so wide in 653 cinemas, as it’s a word-of-mouth film, as seen by it topping the box office on Monday, so we would normally expect that the film would expand in its second weekend. The problem is there are five wide releases opening Friday, and of course, the fear if a film doesn’t immediately find an audience in its opening weekend, it won’t have the chance to expand further.
Despite five wide new releases opening this week, I Swear should hold strongly in its second weekend due to extraordinarily strong word of mouth and being vastly different to these new releases.
- 4. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale £456,643 – £16,905,397
Down 47.3% in the fifth weekend
555th biggest fifth weekend between Hancock and Get Out (close to The Devil Wears Prada, Good Will Hunting, Fantastic Mr Fox and Erin Brockovich) and 790th biggest inflated fifth weekend between The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and Arthur And The Invisibles (close to The Artist, Sideways, The Favourite and Shutter Island).
Fifth weekends
2002’s Gosford Park dropped 5.3% £703,649/£1,307,245 and £5,404,193 43.9% of £12,311,330/£22,872,098
2019’s Downton Abbey dropped 35% £949,205 #5 and £25,394,967 89.9% of £28,248,361
2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era dropped 53.7% £350,593 and £13,328,841, 88.3% of £15,092,058
Other fifth weekend grey pound films include.
2021’s Death on the Nile dropped 19% taking £231,229 #7 and £7,565,193 of £8,012,201
2012’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel dropped 51% taking £747,122 and £15,674,349, 77.2% of £20,308,480
2017’s Murder on the Orient Express dropped 41% taking £824,494 and £22,127,760, 91.6% of £24,140,635
2013’s Philomena dropped 46% taking £289,860 and £9,788,671 93.4% of £10,470,225
2006’s The Queen dropped 47% £269,178 taking £6,314,894 67.3% of £9,381,693
2003’s Calendar Girls dropped 30% £681,748 taking £16,515,918 81.8% of £20,174,133
404th biggest between Mad Max: Fury Road and T2 aka Trainspotting 2 (close to The Silence of the Lambs, The Bodyguard, Chicago and About A Boy) and 690th biggest inflated between Vanilla Sky and In the Line of Fire (close to Parenthood, The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Firm and My Best Friend’s Wedding)
- 5. The Smashing Machine £353,340 – £1,621,631
Down 59.1% in its second weekend
2,397th biggest second weekend between 8MM and Lethal Weapon (close to The Color of Money, Psycho (1999), Assault on Precinct 13 and The Untouchables) and 2,588th biggest inflated second weekend between Footloose (2011) and Sicario 2: Soldado (close to Any Given Sunday, Magnolia, Pleasantville and Reservoir Dogs).
47th biggest 2025 second weekend between The Penguin Lessons and A Working Man (close to A Real Pain, The Phoenician Scheme, Warfare and Drop).
2024’s The Iron Claw dropped 44.7% £417,128 and £1,633,593 of £2,380,926
2009’s The Wrestler dropped 53.3% £374,214 and £1,592,098 of £1,592,098/£2,317,907.
MMA fighter Mark Kerr isn’t well known in the UK, and wrestling isn’t as popular in the UK as it used to be in the 80s with Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks and World of Sport on ITV on Saturday afternoons.
Dwayne Johnson previously starred in 2019’s Fighting with My Family dropped 49.2% £1,026,797 and £3,648,932 of £5,837,684.
2013’s Pain & Gain dropped 60.4% £401,920 and £1,923,892 of £1,923,892/£2,333,419
2006’s Nacho Libre dropped 38.5% £611,692 and £2,459,303 of £3,297,259/£5,362,277.
Director Christopher Nolan said Dyawne Jphnson’s performance was “heartbreaking, I think it’s an incredible performance. I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.”
The Smashing Machine director, Benny Safdie, starred in Oppenheimer and was developing the film while it was being made, and met Emily Blunt during the shoot.
2,787th biggest between The Cave and Mortal Engines (close to The Ringer, Whiplash, The Wrestler and True Romance) and 3,110th biggest inflated between Paradise Lost and Amsterdam (close to That Thing You Do!, Nightmare Alley, The Dream Team and Field of Dreams).
Also opened
Corpse Bride (20th Anniversary) £129,218 #11 312 screens – Park Circus
———-
Year-to-date, 2025 is 10% ahead of 2024.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £6,139,786, down 32.5% from last weekend’s £9,102,060: 793,254 admissions, down 21.8% from 1,013,888 admissions.
The 50th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 31 January 2025 #1 A Complete Unknown £1,236,908 (19.12%) and 09 May 2025 #1 Thunderbolts* £2,362,481 (43.42%)
208th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 256 weeks between 20 September 2024 #1 Beetlejuice 2 £2,458,216 (39.83%) and 03 December 2021 #1 House of Gucci £1,511,982 (24.77%)
1,099th biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,227) between 20 September 2024 #1 Beetlejuice 2 £2,458,216 (39.83%) and 31 March 2006 #1 Inside Man £1,117,054 (18.23%) and 1,172nd biggest inflated between 20 September 2024 #1 Beetlejuice 2 £2,458,216 (39.83%) and 06 July 2018 #1 The First Purge £1,778,157 (31.92%)
The top 3 took £4,218,022 (68.7%) of the top 10; Tron: Ares 29.16% (£1,790,651); One Battle After Another 20.22% (£1,241,615); I Swear 19.31% (£1,185,756)
790th biggest percentage share #1 (29.16%) between 10 March 2023 #1 Scream VI £3,043,922 (29.19%) and 28 August 2015 #1 Straight Outta Compton £2,498,231 (29.12%)
1,113th biggest admissions (231,350) between 08 November 2019 #1 Joker £1,668,466 (234,665) and 10 March 2006 #1 The Hills Have Eyes £1,126,575 (231,330)
Down 10.93% from 2024; (£6,892,905); Transformers One (£1,691,928); Terrifier 3 (£1,049,416); Vettaiyan (£485,910); Salem’s Lot (£359,911); Buffalo Kids (£345,411); Gladiator (Re: 2024) (£96,349); In Restless Dreams: The Music Of Paul Simon (£35,702); #1 Transformers One £1,691,928 1st week 577 screens (24.55% of top 10)
Down 53.89% from 2023; (£13,316,825); Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Concert) (£5,729,998); Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (£3,348,155); Sumotherhood (£746,714); The Miracle Club (£276,379); Friday The 13th (1980) (Re: 2023) (£102,978); #1 Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Concert) £5,729,998 1st week 656 screens (43.03% of top 10)
Down 35.09% 2022 (£9,458,247); Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (£2,783,562); Halloween Ends (£2,110,010); Prima Facie – NT Live 2022 (£282,166); Emily (£276,322); The Lost Boys (35th Anniversary 4k Restoration) (£20,718); #1 Lyle, Lyle Crocodile £2,783,562 1st week 652 screens (29.43% of top 10)
Down 67.95% 2021 (£19,158,551); Venom: Let There Be Carnage (£6,167,833); Halloween Kills (£1,598,062); Ron’s Gone Wrong (£868,053); The Last Duel (£325,523); #1 No Time To Die £8,404,165 3rd week 776 screens down 45% (43.9% of top 10)
Up 153.11% 2020; (£1,406,296); Saint Maud (£263,433); Akira (Re: 2020) (£201,124); Kajillionaire (£44,275); Hocus Pocus (Re: 2020) (£20,491); #1 Tenet £296,049 7th week 53% drop 355 screens.
Down 63.43% 2019; (£16,790,890); Abominable (£2,141,256); Gemini Man (£1,718,511); #1 Joker £9,766,608 2nd week 22% drop 673 screens (37.34% of top 10)
Down 64.10% 2018: (£17,103,615); First Man (£2,415,330); Smallfoot (£2,324,189); Cliff Richard Live: 60th Anniversary Tour (£1,123,885); Bad Times at the El Royale (£491,878); #1 A Star is Born £3,083,089 2nd week 1st #1 612 screens (18.1% of top 10)
Down 9.22% 2017: (£12,090,714); The LEGO Ninjago Movie (£3,642,038); The Snowman (£1,377,909); The Ritual (£424,352); Loving Vincent (£274,036); The Party (£234,985); Die Zauberflote – Met Opera 2017 (£213,605); #1 The LEGO Ninjago Movie £3,642,038 1st week 613 screens (30.1% of the top 10)
Down 58.79% 2016: (£14,897,205); Inferno (£2,970,027); Storks (£2,247,038); Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (£2,033,031); American Honey (£175,383); The Golden Age – Bolshoi 2016 (£86,854); #1 The Girl on the Train £3,412,472 2nd 630 screens 51% drop (22.9% of the top 10)
Down 28.95% 2015; (£9,148,818); Sicario (£1,596,734); The Walk (£795,115); Regression (£214,742); Giselle – Bolshoi 2015 (£128,875); #1 The Martian £3,854,809 2nd week 582 screens 41% drop (42.1% of top 10)
Down 44.55% 2014: (£11,071,974); The Maze Runner (£2,041,229); Annabelle (£1,939,963); One Direction: Where We Are – The Concert Film (£1,021,527); 71 (£205,116); Effie Gray (£67,339); Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (£20,689); The Calling (£8,112); #1 Gone Girl £3,064,545 2nd week 563 screens 25% drop (33% drop (27.7% of top 10)
Up 22.75% 2013: (£5,001,792); The Fifth Estate (£502,495); Le Weekend (£324,488); Machete Kills (£165,586); Baggage Claim (£156,159); Romeo and Juliet (£137,448); #1 Prisoners £968,990 3rd week 449 screens 12% drop (19.3% of top 10)
Down 34.37% 2012: (£9,355,419); Hotel Transylvania (£1,734,231); Ruby Sparks (£299,382); On the Road (£218,738); #1 Taken 2 £3,743,046 2nd week 510 screens 49% drop (40.1%)
Down 39% 2011; (£10,065,543); The Three Musketeers (£1,461,251); Real Steel (£1,337,491); Footloose (£460,271); Dolphin Tale (£429,140); #1 Johnny English Reborn £3,072,542 2nd week 38% drop 521 screens (30.53% of top 10)
Down 47.75% 2009; (£11,750,437); Up (£6,411,836); Zombieland (£1,240,984); Love Happens (£559,724); Halloween II (£522,661); #1 Up £6,411,836 1st week 511 screens (54.5% of top 10)
Up 10.77% 2008; (£5,542,578); The House Bunny (£894,188); Mirrors (£834,092); City of Ember (£496,909); Nights in Rodanthe (£193,318); Gomorrah (£171,348); The Mutant Chronicles (£74,788); #1 The House Bunny £894,188 1st week 346 screens (16.1% of top 10)
Down 28.17% 2007: (£8,548,001); Ratatouille (£4,444,384); Resident Evil 3 (£931,991); Black Sheep (£246,135); The Invasion (£232,994); Mr. Brooks (£169,664); The Nanny Diaries (£101,794); #1 Ratatouille £4,444,384 1st week 503 screens (51.9% of top 10)
Down 34.01% 2006; (£9,304,316); Open Season (£1,666,750); History Boys (£794,672); Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (£669,760); Stick It (£131,043); #1 The Departed £1,957,646 2nd week 1st #1 364 screens 14% drop (21.1% of top 10)
Down 54.43% 2005: (£13,473,346); Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (£9,374,932); Lord of War (£723,406); Domino (£481,409); #1 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit £9,374,932 1st week 501 screens (69.6% of top 10)
Down 12.48% 2004; (£7,015,008); Bride and Prejudice (£1,667,616); Resident Evil: Apocalypse (£801,171); Man On Fire (£656,466); #1 Bride and Prejudice £1,667,616 1st week 376 screens (23.7% of top 10)
Down 52.25% 2003 (£12,858,833); Cabin Fever (£1,056,338); Kill Bill (£162,857) (platform) (£152,793); #1 Finding Nemo £7,381,962 2nd week 1st #1 453 screens (57.4% of top 10)
Down 33.68% from 2002: (£9,258,248); Red Dragon (£3,180,493); Clockstoppers (£196,802); #1 Red Dragon £3,180,493 1st week 428 screens (34.3% of top 10)
Down 33.40% from 2001 (£9,219,269); American Pie 2 (£5,508,709); The Pledge (£142,100); Atlantis (£79,695) (platform) #1 American Pie 2 £5,508,709 1st week 1st week 420 screens (59.7% of top 10)
2024 Next week: (£8,766,339); The Wild Robot (£3,256,572); Smile 2 (£2,000,089); The Apprentice (£749,149); My Hero Academia: You’re Next (£216,844); London 2024 (Ballet) Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland – ROH (£147,703); Carrie (4K Restoration) (£43,431); Back To The Future II (35th Anniversary) (£8,972); #1 The Wild Robot £3,256,572 1st week 670 screens (37.15% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Tron: Ares – Disney
Opened $33.24m; received mixed reviews (55% Rotten Tomatoes) and a B+ CinemaScore as Tron: Legacy
Took $4.8m Thursday previews; TRON: Legacy $3.6m; Blade Runner 2049 $4m; Alien: Romulus $6.5m; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes $6.6m; THG: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes $5.8m.
It was expected to open between $45m-$50m and $95m worldwide; presales were $7m, similar to Alien: Romulus and Songbirds & Snakes.
573rd biggest opening between Lethal Weapon 3 and Hustlers (close to The Equaliser 3, The Expendables, A Wrinkle in Time and X-Men: Dark Phoenix)
Took 67% from IMAX; PLF; 3D, ScreenX and DBox; 31% 3D; 20% IMAX; Tron: Ares has IMAX screens for 2 weeks and 3D screens for the whole run; average price of 67% of tickets were $19.51, 70% more than $11.51 industry average. So, while Tron: Ares might have opened a third less than Tron: Legacy and 50% less than its inflated opening, it had about a quarter of its admissions.
30% of the audience were under 25, 27% 45+, and 68% male.
Took $10.4m IMAX worldwide; $6.6m US and $3.8m international.
2010’s Tron: Legacy opened $44.02m/$64.22m taking $172.06m/$251m and $400.07m/$583.62m WW
1982’s Tron opened $4.76m/$18.7m and $33m/$129.2m and $50m worldwide.
Opened similar to 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 $32.75m #585, taking $92.07 and $277.93m worldwide.
Interesting to see Tron: Ares opened similarly to some of Disney’s biggest flops over the last decade, but inflation inflated far worse.
2015’s Tomorrowland opened $33.02m/$45.1m #576, taking $93.43m and $209.03m worldwide.
2013’s The Lone Ranger opened $29.21m/$41.4m, taking $89.3m and $260.5m worldwide.
2012’s John Carter opened $30.18m/$43.6m #651, taking $73.07m and $284.13m worldwide.
And similar to
2013’s Oblivion opened $37.05m, taking $89.1m #487 and $286.16m worldwide.
2008’s Eagle Eye opened $29.15m #696, taking $101.44m and $178.76m worldwide.
2011’s Battle Los Angeles opened $35.57m #515, taking $83.55m and $211.81m worldwide.
2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence opened $29.35m #689, taking $78.61m and $235.92m worldwide. (Tron: Ares has a similar Pinocchio lot device).
1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day opened $31.76m #601, taking $204.84m and $205.06m WW
Was expected to open closer to
2018’s Ready Player One opened $41.76m #403, taking $137.69m and $583.49m worldwide.
2023’s THG: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opened $44.6m, taking $166.35m and $347.72m WW
2024’s Alien: Romulus opened $42m, taking $105.31m and $350.86m worldwide.
2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened $58.4m, taking $171.13m and $397.37m worldwide
The original Tron had a $17m budget and wasn’t a huge box office success, but the special effects were seen as game-changing, and it became a cult favourite. It was still a surprise Disney made Tron: Legacy 28 years later with $170m budget, and it wasn’t a surprise it wasn’t a huge box office success. So why, 15 years later, did Disney spend $180m making Tron: Ares? The reason is probably similar to why they are still making Avatar sequels, more about the theme park rides than the films, and it’s $180m trailer for a theme park ride.
As always, when a film like Tron: Ares underperforms, analysts overthink the reason why audiences didn’t embrace the film. With Tron: Ares, it was simply that younger audiences weren’t interested in Tron: Ares. While Deadline suggested it was due to the limitations of sci-fi away from Star Wars and Star Trek but it’s similar to 2017’s Blade Runner: 2049 and 1982’s Blade Runner; 1982’s Tron didn’t have a big fanbase to start off with.
As Disney release fewer films than rival studios, all of their films need to be massive box office hits, especially when they come with massive budgets. Disney has taken $1.586bn in the US in 2025, #2 to Warner Bros currently.
But many of their 2025 films haven’t met their high expectations; after the underwhelming performance of many MCU films over recent years, The Fantastic Four: First Steps was expected to take much more than $274.2m, likewise Captain America: Brave New World, taking only $200.5m and Thunderbolts* $190.27m. Last year’s Mufasa: The Lion King, being their fifth biggest film of the year, highlights how Freakier Friday, Disney’s Snow White and Elio came from their expectations at the start of the year.
Of course, with Zootopia 2 opening in November and Avatar: Fire and Ash opening in December, Disney will end the year as the #1 studio again, and there will be the typical headlines “what crisis”, as they will say 2026 will be massive with The Mandalorian & Grogu, Toy Story 5, Moana and Avengers: Doomsday, but can they match up to previous instalments and meet the high expectations they have with fans?
After Joachim Rønning previously directed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Young Woman and the Sea, why did Disney get him to direct Tron: Ares after Joseph Kosinski directed Tron: Legacy?
Plans for Tron 3 started before Tron: Legacy opened in 2015. The sequel was approved by Disney with the cast returning as well as director Joseph Kosinski, and it was set to start filming in October 2015, but after Tomorrowland flopped, Tron 3 was cancelled by Disney.
In 2017, Jared Leto was attached to a Tron sequel, with Disney confirming it was in development in 2020, but why did Disney think a Jared Leto-led film was a good idea after 2022’s Morbius (opened $39m, taking $73.86m and $167.46m worldwide)?
While much has been written about the decision by Disney for Jared Leto to lead Tron: Ares, there are many other questions, like why Disney thought Joachim Rønning was the right director for the film, and, of course, the biggest issue was the dull plot, setting it in the real world, as seen in so many other films. While the film feels like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Westworld, Blade Runner, The Terminator, The Matrix, and Ex Machina, rather than feeling fresh and original as Tron did in 1982.
Opened $27m internationally and $60.5m worldwide; Mexico $2.9m; UK $2.4m; France $1.9m; Australia $1.5m; Germany $1.4m
- One Battle After Another – Warner Bros
Dropped 38% in its third weekend $6.8m and $54.62m
Paul Thomas Anderson’s 10 films have taken almost $275m in the US and $600m worldwide.
Impossible to compare with other Paul Thomas Anderson second weekends, as they expanded over several weeks. Some analysts have wondered why the film isn’t holding as strongly despite receiving critical acclaim and an A+ CinemaScore, but only need to see is how Paul Thomas Anderson’s other films have performed to understand that mainstream audiences aren’t as interested in his films as cinephiles and critics.
1997’s Boogie Nights took $26.4m; 1999’s Magnolia took $22.45m and $48.45m worldwide
2002’s Punch-Drunk Love took $17.84m and $24.66m WW
2007’s There Will Be Blood took $40.22m and $76.18m WW
2012’s The Master took $16.37m and $28.25m worldwide
2014’s Inherent Vice took $8.11m and $14.81m worldwide
2017’s Phantom Thread took $21.19m and $47.75m WW
2022’s Licorice Pizza took $17.31m and $33.27m WW
2024’s Civil War dropped 38.9% $6.85m and $56.04m of $68.75m and $127.26m worldwide
The two recent Warner Bros Best Picture winners
2006’s The Departed dropped 29.3% $13.46m and $76.93m of $132.39m and $292.08m worldwide
2012’s Argo dropped 26.5% $12.08m and $60.51m of $136.02m and $232.32m worldwide
Leonardo DiCaprio’s recent films
2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon dropped 26.2% $6.87m and $52.2m of $68.03m and $158.77m worldwide
2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood dropped 41.8% $11.65m and $100.38m of $142.5m and $392.1m worldwide
2015’s The Revenant dropped 49.6% $16m and $119.2m of $183.63m and $532.95m WW
1,752nd biggest between Three Billboards Outside and Horrible Bosses 2; 3,524th biggest inflated between Aeon Flux and Hannibal Rising; 25th biggest 2025 between From the World of John Wick: Ballerina and The Naked Gun; 292nd biggest Warner Bros between New Year’s Eve and Horrible Bosses 2.
One Battle After Another lost most IMAX/Dolby screens to Tron: Ares on Friday, but will hold on to some VistaVision, 70MM IMAX and PLFs.
Variety has said One Battle After Another is tracking to lose about $100m as it needs to take at least $300m worldwide to break even, as its budget was about $130m and marketing $70m.and the studio takes about 50% of the BO. They blame the shorter theatrical window, but as seen with family films in the UK, including The Bad Guys 2, performing strongly in cinemas weeks after being released on VOD, it’s all about the films themselves and the cost of seeing them in cinemas.
As Warner Bros have had success with Sinners, A Minecraft Movie, Weapons, The Conjuring: Last Rites and Final Destination: Bloodlines, they can swallow the potential losses of One Battle After Another as they have made the studio filmmaker-friendly again after the nastiest five years ago that saw Christopher Nolan move to Universal. It also highlights the benefit of having a big slate of films, as a film that underperforms isn’t so noticeable; that said, Warner Bros don’t open another film until February 2026, but they will surely get a lot of award recognition for Sinners, Weapons and One Battle After Another, which could translate into higher subscription numbers over the months ahead. Warner Bros films have taken about $4bn worldwide in 2025, generating $600m profits from those films, according to Variety.
Took $15m from 77 territories $83.5m total, and $138m worldwide; UK $11.2m; France $8.5m; Germany $6.4m; Italy $4.4m; Australia $4m; $12.8m worldwide from IMAX; US $7.4m and international $5.4m
- Roofman – Paramount Pictures
Opened $8.1m; received positive reviews (82% Rotten Tomatoes) and a B+ CinemaScore.
Took $1m Thursday previews; Dog $1.26m.
It was expected to open between $8m-$12m.
Roofman, struggling to find an audience, is yet another example of the struggle original films have in finding an audience despite receiving positive reviews and strong buzz since the Toronto Film Festival. It will also struggle to find an audience internationally.
This is seen also by One Battle After Another dropping much more than many analysts expected Dwayne Johnsonn’s The Smashing Machine dropping almost 70% in its second weekend (taking $1.79m and $9.8m), Daniel Day Lewis’s comeback film Anemone also dropping almost 80% in its second weekend and soft openings of both Kiss of the Spider Woman wide and After the Hunt on platform. The problem, of course, is that the industry has been in denial of the issues for many years, as seen with Apple last year pulling back from giving all of their films a theatrical release a year ago.
Had a budget of $19m, Paramount Pictures acquired rights to several territories from Miramax.
Whenever films open lower than expected, analysts still use COVID as the excuse, but the issues were there long before COVID.
Recent Channing Tatum films include.
2024’s Fly Me to the Moon opened $9.4m, taking $20.53m and $42.26m worldwide
2022’s Dog opened $14.88m, taking $61.77m and $84.55m worldwide
2017’s Logan Lucky opened $7.6m, taking $27.78m and $48.45m worldwide
Derek Cianfrance previously directed.
2010’s Blue Valentine opened $1.18m (wide), taking $9.7m and $14.89m worldwide
2012’s The Place Beyond the Pines opened $3.86m (wide), taking $21.4m and $47.05m worldwide
2016’s The Light Between Oceans opened $4.76m, taking $12.54m and $25.97m worldwide
- Kiss of the Spider Woman – Lionsgate
Opened $891,046; received positive reviews (76% Rotten Tomatoes)
Was expected to open between $1.5m-$3m; the Jennifer Lopez remake was acquired by Kiss of the Spider Woman after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Like so many films that came before it at Sundance, it generated strong buzz, but then many months later struggled to find a paying audience. This has happened so many times over the last 30+ years with studio acquisition teams getting caught up in the hype at the Sundance Film Festival, acquiring films they previously rejected for huge amounts, and not finding an audience when they are given a cinema release 6+ months later.
Jennifer Lopez generates huge media coverage due to her massive music career, and while 2019’s Hustlers was a huge box office hit, but has struggled with live-action films over the last 30 years.
The film was previously made into a film in 1985, receiving critical acclaim, and William Hurt won the Best Actor BAFTA. It was turned into a musical in 1993, similar to The Color Purple, which also started as a Steven Spielberg film in 1985, before becoming a massive hit on Broadway, and then the musical was turned into a film in 2023 and flopped at the box office.
The 1985 film only had a limited release in the US, playing at its widest point 200 screens, compared with the remake, which opened in over 1,000 more and took $17m in the US.
The remake was directed by Bill Condon, who previously directed Chicago, Dreamgirls, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast and also co-wrote the screenplay to The Greatest Showman.
- After The Hunt – MGM/Amazon
Opened $158,679 from 6 screens; received mixed reviews (43% Rotten Tomatoes)
Had world premiere at the Venice International Festival, receiving mixed reviews (49% Rotten Tomatoes). Had a six-minute standing ovation.
After struggling on platform opening on 6 screens, as would normally expect an opening on 6 screens for a film like this to open more than double, it’s likely to struggle to find a wide audience when it opens wide this week, similar to 2022’s She Said opened $2.21m, taking $5.82m and $13.94m worldwide. As it’s about the power dynamics that follow, the struggle between truth and power.
After the Hunt has also been compared to 2022’s Tar (opened $158,620 on 4 screens, taking $6.77m and $29.17m worldwide), and Cate Blanchett received an Oscar nomination.
While After the Hunt received mixed reviews, it’s a film that will generate conversation as generated a lot of controversy at the press conference with questions asked about the #MeToo movement and cancel culture, and Julia Roberts said, “We’re not making statements; we are portraying these people in this moment in time. ”.. “I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have a conversation. To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you. If making this movie does anything, getting everybody to talk to each other is the most exciting thing that I think we could accomplish.”
Comparison films include Spotlight, Bombshell, She Said, Wind River, Promising Young Woman and The Accused. These films often struggle to find an audience in cinemas unless they have award recognition, as with Spotlight and The Accused and After the Hunt won’t receive award recognition.
It’s Julia Roberts’ first leading role in a cinema release since 2022’s Ticket to Paradise. She most recently starred in 2023’s Leave the World Behind for Netflix. Leave the World Behind is one of Netflix’s 10 most-watched films ever, 143.3m views in its first 91 days (Most watched KPop Demon Hunters 314.2m in less than 30 days).
While After the Hunt has received mixed reviews, many critics have highlighted Julia Roberts’ performance, saying it could give her another Best Actress Oscar nomination, 25 years after winning Best Actress for Erin Brockovich and 35 years after Best Supporting Actress for Steel Magnolias. Julia Roberts didn’t win, but a few weeks later starred in Pretty Woman, which was then Disney’s biggest ever film, taking $178.4m/$486.6m and $463.4m/$1.26bn worldwide. Julia Roberts received a second Best Actress nomination but didn’t win.
Luca Guadagnino previously directed.
215’s A Bigger Splash opened $114,419 on 5 screens, taking $2.02m and $7.54m worldwide
2017’s Call Me by Your Name opened $412,932 on 4 screens, taking $18.09m and $42.32m worldwide
2018’s Suspiria opened $184,037 on 2 screens, taking $2.48m and $7.94m worldwide
2022’s Bones and All opened $2.25m, taking $7.83m and $15.23m worldwide
2024’s Challengers opened $15.01m, taking $50.11m and $96.11m worldwide
2024’s Queer opened $200,951 on 7 screens, taking $3.73m and $7.02m worldwide
The film generated a lot of controversy at the press conference with questions asked about the #MeToo movement and cancel culture, and Julia Roberts said, “We’re not making statements; we are portraying these people in this moment in time. ”.. “I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have a conversation. To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you. If making this movie does anything, getting everybody to talk to each other is the most exciting thing that I think we could accomplish.”
Comparison films include Spotlight, Bombshell, She Said, Wind River, Promising Young Woman and The Accused. These films often struggle to find an audience in cinemas unless they have award recognition, as with Spotlight and The Accused.
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
Five wide new releases open this weekend that will have mixed success at the box office.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie opens on Thursday, a spinoff of the hugely popular show on Netflix. It’s the second live-action DreamWorks Animation film after this year’s How to Train Your Dragon reimagination and DreamWorks Animation’s first live-action film, not a remake.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will likely open #1 with about £2m; there has been a lack of family film releases over the last three months seen by how well The Bad Guys 2 has held over the last 12 weeks, despite being released on VOD 6 weeks ago.
The Black Phone 2 will probably open #2 with £.2m-£1.5m; reviews have said it’s better than original film, but the original film was a 15 but the sequel is surprisingly a 18; since 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s Blumhouse Productions have struggled to find audiences in cinemas including Night Swim, Speak No Evil, Wolf Man, The Woman in the Yard, Drop and M3GAN 2.0.
Strong word of mouth should see I Swear drop about 20%-30% taking £800k-£900k, with Tron: Ares dropping about 50% in its second weekend, taking £700-£900k.
One Battle After Another dropped about 40% in its fourth weekend, taking £650k-£800k+
Roofman, after the Hunt and Good Fortune, are likely to struggle to find a wide audience.
Despite receiving positive reviews after its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and UK premiere at the London Film Festival.
Derek Cianfrance previously directed 2011’s Blue Valentine (opened £167,206 36 screens); 2013’s The Place Beyond the Pines (opened £671,119 taking £2,930,607) and 2016’s The Light Between Oceans (opened £733,421 taking £1,822,948). While Roofman is Channing Tatum’s first film since last year’s Blink Twice, Fly Me to the Moon and cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. Similar films include Catch Me If You Can, Inside Man and also made me think of 1991’s Career Opportunities.
After The Hunt received a standing ovation at the Venice International Festival received mixed reviews. It’s Julia Roberts’ first leading role in a cinema release since 2022’s Ticket to Paradise. Most recently starred in 2023’s Leave the World Behind for Netflix with 143.3m views in its first 91 days.
Luca Guadagnino previously directed 2015’s A Bigger Splash (opened £347,682); 2017’s Call Me by Your Name (opened £235,670 111 screens); 2018’s Suspiria (opened £166,257 77 screens); 2022’s Bones and All (opened £318,246 #6 466 screens); 2024’s Challengers (opened £1,607,094) and 2024’s Queer (opened £293,041 #8 213 screens).
Coming Soon
- Predator: Badlands – Disney
Sci-fi action film seventh instalment in the Predator franchise, starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and directed by Dan Trachtenberg (previously directed 2022’s Prey and 2025’s Predator: Killer of Killers.
Dan Trachtenberg has said he wanted to direct a trilogy of Predator films after Prey and Predator: Badlands.
Dan Trachtenberg previously directed 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane opened £1,601,161, taking £5,029,725.
One issue fans of the series will have is that Predator: Badlands is a PG-13 and an R, like all other instalments, but it won’t make any difference in the UK, as it will still be a 15, as all other films have been.
Despite receiving positive reviews, Prey was released straight to Disney+
1988’s Predator opened £598,537/£2,074,061 taking £2,664,237/£9,232,160
1990s Predator 2 opened £936,057/£2,446,723, taking £2,010,600/£5,255,430.
2010’s Predators opened £2,203,193/£2,951,168 taking £5,767,854/£7,726,016
2018’s The Predator opened £2,394,163/£2,626,284, taking £4,569,791/£5,012,846
2022’s Prey and 2025’s Predator: Killer of Killers were both released straight to Disney+
- The Choral – Sony Pictures
Historical comedy drama starring Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, and Simon Russell Beale and directed by Nicholas Hytner and written by Alan Bennett.
Had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and UK premiere at the London Film Festival, receiving mixed reviews.
Nicholas Hytner previously directed.
1994’s The Madness of King George opened £308,417/£701,915 on 13 screens, taking £4,531,966/£10,314,130
1997’s The Crucible opened £380,748/£740,915 175 screens taking £1,410,350/£2,744,464
1998’s The Object of My Affection opened £353,236/£694,201 200 screens, taking £1,882,318/£3,699,245
2006’s The History Boys opened £794,672/£1,292,362 292 screens taking £4,024,741/£6,545,369
2015’s The Lady in the Van opened £2,256,121 on 523 screens, taking £12,660,028/£13,906,716
Ralph Fiennes most recently starred in 2025’s 28 Years Later and 2024’s Conclave opened £1,065,847, taking £9,249,452.
- Anemone – Universal Pictures
Psychological drama starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean and Samantha Morton and a film directed by Ronan Day-Lewis (directorial debut); it’s Daniel Day-Lewis’s first acting role since he retired from acting in 2017 after starring in Phantom Thread in 2017.
Had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, receiving mixed reviews, and its UK premiere at the London Film Festival.
Opened in the US on a limited wide 865 screens on October 3rd $681,655, but dropped almost 80% in its second weekend, taking $140,145 and $1.07m.