Don’t move: Disney hopes “Tron” videogames extend franchise

And in many ways, Hollywood hasn’t learned from this perfect marriage of game and film. At least, most of Hollywood. The weekend before Christmas is not the time when box-office hits are made, but it is when the early holiday flops are established. Among the trio of new movies that opened just ahead of the two most important moviegoing weeks of the year outside of summer, the big-budget sequel “Tron: Legacy” appears to have a solid chance at turning into a hit, while the kids’ cartoon adaptation “Yogi Bear” is a long shot, and the pricey adult dramedy “How Do You Know” is dead on arrival. Ticket sales fell for a sixth straight weekend, making it uncertain whether Hollywood will exceed last year’s record $10.6 billion in the U.S. and Canada. This year’s holiday films are up against a 2009 slate that included “Avatar,” the top-grossing film of all time, and “The Blind Side,” a surprise hit that generated $256 million in domestic sales, according to researcher Box Office Mojo. “We might actually barely exceed the $10.6 (billion), but it’s built on the back of higher ticket prices,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com’s box-office unit, said in an interview. “It will be a shallow victory.” “Tron: Legacy” continues the story of programmer Kevin Flynn, who has been trapped in a video game for 20 years. The Mark Wahlberg boxing story “The Fighter” raked in $12.2 million, while the psychological drama “Black Swan,” playing in fewer than half as many theaters as each of the other four movies, grossed $8.3 million. Disney’s “Tron: Legacy” is the biggest bet of the holiday season. It came in at No. 2 with $16.7 million, a few million dollars short of the expectations. Bailey said that gamers will be able to get quality time playing with all of the vehicles that are shown in the new film, as well as learn more about the back story of the key characters. On July 11, 1982, TRON opened to $4.8 million — light years behind the $13 million opening of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial . The Darren Aronofsky film, pirouetting into the No. 7 spot, jumped to 959 theaters this weekend with an impressive $8.3 million haul. (Consider that “Black Swan,” which cost just $13 million, already has a cumulative gross of $15.7 million in three weekends of limited release.

In good news for Disney, most moviegoers liked the film, giving it an average grade of B+, and they were willing to pay extra to see it in the best quality: 82% of ticket sales revenue came from theaters playing “Tron: Legacy” in 3-D and 24% was for digital or large-format Imax. “When you use new technology to make something that is more compelling for the consumer, then they want more of it. The film was nominated for six Golden Globe awards, including best film drama and best actor in a drama for Wahlberg. “The Tourist,” a thriller starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, was fifth with $8.7 million. If it does, “Tron: Legacy” could gross $200 million or more domestically and the same overseas.

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