Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Ares, and the legendary actor has now shared his response to the movie underperforming at the box office... while quoting his most famous character, The Dude from The Big Lebowski.
Disney's sci-fi threequel stumbled right out of the gate when it released a few weeks ago, taking in just $33.5 million from 4,000 North American theaters, with another $27 million from overseas markets for a worldwide debut of $60 million. Negative reviews didn't help, and even though the movie has since passed the $100 million milestone worldwide (on a $180M budget), this must be seen as a disappointing result for all involved.
Bridges has taken a slight;y more optimistic view of the situation, however.
“It’s interesting, though, how movies are received at opening weekend,” the actor said when asked about Ares' BO performance during an interview with EW. “I remember Heaven’s Gate was considered, you know, very disappointing or a flop, but nowadays it’s considered kind of a masterpiece.”
“Even as an individual, often, I have not liked a movie,” he added. “And then a couple weeks or months later, I’ll see it again. I’ll say, ‘What was I thinking?’ As the Dude would say, ‘That’s just like your opinion, man.'”
A third Tron movie was always going to be a gamble for Disney, and the studio's decision to return to The Grid after Tron: Legacy's underwhelming box office performance has not paid off. Is this the final nail in the Tron franchise's coffin?
A recent THR piece certainly suggested that it could very well be, while laying at least some of the blame at the feet of leading man Jared Leto.
"With Ares flopping, the insider says Leto’s currency in town has run colder than Morbius’ vampire blood. To be clear, the flameout of Tron isn’t Leto’s burden alone. 'You could have had Ryan Gosling, it wasn’t going to work,' says the first agency partner. 'No one asked for this reboot. If you say, 'Tron: Ares is good, we just needed a different actor,' you’re deluding yourself.'"
Leto has been accused of not being the easiest guy to work with (among other things), but Bridges seemed to have a pleasant enough experience with the controversial Morbius star.
"Jared Leto was wonderful to work with, and so was Joachim Rønning, the director. It was only for a few days, but it was fun getting back on the Grid!"
Tron: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. The feature film is directed by Joachim Rønning and stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, with Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges.
Sean Bailey, Jared Leto, p.g.a., Emma Ludbrook, p.g.a., Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, p.g.a., and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Russell Allen, and Joseph Kosinski serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Jesse Wigutow, with story by David DiGilio and Wigutow, based on characters created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird.