A Costly Misfire for Warner Bros.
Tom Cruise's ambitious gamble on Digger ended in humiliation at the weekend box office, with the satirical black comedy earning just $8 million from 3,321 North American theaters in its opening frame — a figure rivals expect to settle closer to $7.5 million once Monday actuals are counted [1]. For a film carrying a production budget that ballooned from a greenlit $125 million to an estimated $160–180 million, the result is not merely disappointing; it is shaping up as one of the costliest theatrical failures in recent memory [1][2].
Warner Bros. had hoped the pairing of Cruise with director Alejandro González Iñárritu — whose credits include Birdman and The Revenant — would generate at least $18–20 million at the domestic opening, though even that figure would have been financially ruinous for a film of this scale [1]. Box office analysts say a debut near $40 million would have been required to justify the price tag [1]. Third-party tracking services had initially projected an opening closer to $30 million, but audience interest appeared to collapse in the ten days leading up to release [2].
The studio spent roughly $100 million on global marketing, pushing the theatrical break-even point to somewhere between $300 million (Warner Bros.' own estimate) and $350 million (according to executives familiar with comparable productions) [1]. With a global opening weekend of just $20 million — $8 million domestic and $12 million from 73 international markets — Digger is on course to lose between $150 million and $200 million theatrically [1]. Cruise's first-dollar gross deal, which entitles him to a percentage of revenues before the studio recoups costs, further complicates the path to profitability [1].
"For a black comedy, the numbers are not bad," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. "But black comedies are small films, and this isn't a small film. It's a Tom Cruise movie. The comedy walks a fine line, and when it misses, it misses." [1]
Audience and Critical Rejection
Digger cast Cruise as a balding, pot-bellied oil tycoon who discovers he has caused a natural disaster — a physical and tonal departure designed to generate awards conversation [2]. That buzz has largely evaporated. The film earned a C+ CinemaScore, one of the lowest grades of Cruise's career, and sits at 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes [2]. The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic David Rooney deemed it "dead and buried" [2].
Warner Bros. attempted an unconventional damage-control campaign, running ads that invited audiences to "decide for yourself" after critics called the film "unpleasant" and "baffling," and even suggesting that only American audiences had rejected it — a claim undercut by the equally weak international performance [1]. On Saturday morning, Cruise took to social media to say he remained "so proud of what we created" [2].
The Worst Possible Timing
The failure lands at an especially fraught moment for Warner Bros. Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of the studio is set to close October 6, and news broke days before the weekend that Warner co-chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy are departing when the merger finalizes, with Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein set to take over [1][2]. De Luca and Abdy oversaw a strong 2025 slate that included Sinners and A Minecraft Movie, but not a single 2026 Warner Bros. release has crossed $100 million domestically [1]. Digger joins The Bride and Supergirl as high-profile misfires this year [1].
For Cruise personally, the opening marks his softest debut since Lions for Lambs launched to $6.7 million in 2007 — though that film carried a far smaller budget [2]. He is expected to pivot back toward familiar commercial territory, with Days of Thunder 2 reportedly moving toward production [2].
'Verity' Delivers for Amazon MGM
While Digger sank, Amazon MGM's adaptation of Colleen Hoover's thriller Verity claimed the top spot with a solid $32.6 million from 3,510 theaters [1][2]. Directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick), the film stars Anne Hathaway as celebrated author Verity Crawford, who is badly injured in a car accident, with her husband (Josh Hartnett) hiring a struggling writer (Dakota Johnson) to complete her book series [1].
The opening crowd was 78 percent female, with the largest age demographic (38 percent) falling between 25 and 34 [1][2]. An additional $30 million from international markets brought the global debut to $62.5 million [1]. Produced for just $40 million, Verity is expected to turn a profit for Amazon MGM despite a C+ CinemaScore and a 34 percent Rotten Tomatoes score [1].
"This is an excellent opening," Gross said. "The reception is not hurting the film. Audiences are showing up in big numbers." [1]
Among Hoover adaptations, Verity ranks second behind Sony's 2024 breakout It Ends With Us, which opened to $50 million and ultimately grossed $350 million globally [1]. "Verity's debut is another win for female-driven movies at the box office," said Fandango director of analytics Shawn Robbins. "It adds to what's become a banner year for Anne Hathaway." [2] The actress has now scored three No. 1 openings in 2026, following The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Odyssey [1].
The Rest of the Chart
Sony's Resident Evil reboot, directed by Zach Cregger, held at second place with $12.5 million in its third weekend, lifting its domestic total to $124.8 million against a $75 million budget [1][2]. The film has generated $215 million globally and represents Sony's second consecutive box office win after Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which crossed $2.5 billion worldwide over the weekend — placing it third on the all-time global chart [1][2].
Paramount's Brad Pitt survival thriller Heart of the Beast took third with $11 million in its second weekend, a 45 percent decline, bringing its domestic total to $38.3 million and its global tally to $98.6 million [1]. A24's Primetime, with Robert Pattinson playing journalist Chris Hansen, landed fourth with $8 million in its second frame, though a steeper 58 percent drop from its $19 million debut raises questions about its legs [1].
Disney's re-release of Avengers: Endgame — expanded with additional footage ahead of December's Avengers: Doomsday — collected $126 million across two weekends, pushing the 2019 blockbuster back to the top of the all-time global box office chart, surpassing Avatar once again [1][2].
What to Watch Next
The domestic box office stands at $7.95 billion through this weekend, up 19 percent from the same point in 2025, and is roughly $50 million away from crossing $8 billion — a milestone the industry did not reach last year until December [1][2]. Next weekend brings the Jessica Chastain thriller Other Mommy and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning [2]. The more pressing question is whether Digger's catastrophic performance accelerates any strategic shifts at Warner Bros. under its incoming Paramount ownership — and whether the industry's appetite for expensive, star-driven original comedies has now been definitively tested.
