Tom Cruise and director Alejandro Iñárritu’s high-profile film Digger collapsed at the box office with an $8 million domestic opening weekend, setting up a projected loss of $150 million and marking the actor’s lowest opening in 19 years just as Warner Bros. faces a major studio leadership exit.
Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. watched its high-stakes theatrical release struggle profoundly during its opening weekend, bringing in a meager $8 million from 3,321 North American theaters. Rivals tracking the rollout anticipate that the final tally will land closer to $7.5 million. With a production budget estimated between $160 million and $180 million, the black comedy stands as one of the most severe box office misfires in recent memory.
The film’s domestic figures contributed to a soft $20 million global start alongside a brutal C+ CinemaScore from exiting audiences. Trade projections from myriad sources indicate the picture will lose roughly $150 million, assuming it manages to reach a modest $50 million worldwide gross.
Leadership Exit at Warner Bros. Amid the Release
The commercial failure compounds a difficult year for the studio following underperforming titles like The Bride and Supergirl. The timing proved especially bruising, arriving just days before Paramount Skydance Corp.’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is set to close on Oct. 6.
News broke that motion picture co-chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy are departing the studio as the merger finalizes.
Marketing Strategy Sparks Debate Across International Markets
Faced with polarizing reviews and a 51 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, Warner Bros. deployed a contentious digital marketing pivot. The studio rolled out an online advertisement contrasting glowing international notices against harsh domestic reviews, effectively highlighting critical pushback from American publications like the New York Post while showcasing praise from foreign outlets.
The promotional spot opened with Cruise’s character declaring, America has stood beside the world in its darkest of hours
, met by Riz Ahmed’s character replying, Not anymore
. After displaying a series of international flags alongside critic quotes, the ad concluded with Cruise telling viewers, You decide which!
Warner Bros. subsequently deleted the advertisement from X following widespread user reaction.
Online Sentiment Drops Before Digger Release
Social analytics firm RelishMix reported that online chatter shifted from an 8.1 out of 10 score on September 15 down to a 6.4 prior to release.
Despite the domestic resistance, French aggregation site AlloCiné recorded a warmer average press rating of 3.2 out of 5 across 30 reviews.
“Digger is officially in theaters and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists. Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I’m so proud of what we created.”
Tom Cruise, actor
Box Office Comparison With Colleen Hoover Adaptation
While Digger stumbled, Amazon MGM’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-seller Verity dominated the domestic box office with a solid $32.6 million debut from 3,510 theaters. Among Hoover’s adaptations, Verity registers the second-biggest debut behind Sony’s 2024 sleeper hit It Ends With Us at $50 million, and ahead of Paramount’s 2025 film Regretting You at $13.6 million alongside Universal’s 2026 movie Reminders of Him at $17 million. The counterprogramming success drew an opening crowd that was 78 percent female, capturing an underserved demographic with a modest production budget.
Industry trackers noted that while Cruise’s latest theatrical outing failed to capture a broad domestic audience, studio defenders point out that every new release historically lifts the value of his broader cinematic library, which spans numerous titles.