By Jeremy Fuster

After September’s surprisingly strong box office numbers, October is settling into a period of theaters looking for films that can tide them over with decent returns until the holiday heavyweights arrive in November. Disney’s “Tron: Ares” should continue that trend, though how much it can provide theaters in the long run is in question.

With the studio’s sequels to “Zootopia” and “Avatar” presumed to be this winter’s highest grossers, the third “Tron” film is expected to have a considerably lower box office. It’s a continuation of a mixed year for Disney, which earned Hollywood’s sole $1 billion grosser this year with “Lilo & Stitch,” while its remake of “Snow White” bombed and its Marvel offerings “Thunderbolts*” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” got decidedly mixed results.