‘Digger’ posted Tom Cruise’s lowest opening gross in 19 years and earned a C+ CinemaScore. (Warner Bros.)
Digger collapses in its premiere with barely 8 million dollars in North America and 20 million globallywhile TRUE takes first place at the North American box office with 32.6 million dollars.
The movie starring Tom Cruise accumulates a financial disaster that is already shaping up to be one of the biggest failures of the year for Warner Bros.
The film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu — in which Cruise plays an oil tycoon facing a massive ecological disaster — grossed $8 million in its opening weekend in 3,321 theaters in North America.
Industry rivals estimate that the final figure, once Monday’s numbers are tallied, could be closer to $7.5 million.
With a production budget of between 160 and 180 million dollars, the absurdist political satire becomes one of the most expensive premieres in recent history.
The film had a production budget of between 160 and 180 million dollars and required 40 million in its debut to justify the investment. (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Warner Bros. had projected an opening of between 18 and 20 million dollars – a figure that analysts already considered insufficient for a film of that cost – while industry specialists estimate that the film would have needed to raise close to 40 million dollars in its debut to justify its investment.
“For a black comedy, the numbers are not bad. But Black comedies are small films, and this one is not. It’s a Tom Cruise movie”said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Re. “Comedy walks a very fine line, and when it fails, it fails.”
The failure extends to the international level: the film grossed barely 12 million dollars in 73 foreign markets, for a global collection of only 20 million dollars in its first weekend.
The result becomes Digger in the worst premiere of Cruise from Lions for lambs (2007), which had opened with $6.7 million but on a considerably smaller budget.
The public reception was equally adverse: the film obtained a rating C+ and CinemaScore —one of the lowest in the actor’s career— and a 51% approval rating in rotten tomatoes.
Warner Bros. spent $100 million on global marketing of the project and faces losses of up to $200 million. (REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)
Projections from audience tracking companies estimated an opening close to $30 million weeks before the premiere, but interest plummeted in the ten days prior to release.
Faced with the avalanche of negative reviews, Warner Bros. tried to convert the controversy into an advertising campaign, urging viewers to “judge for themselves” and maintaining—unsuccessfully—that the rejection was exclusive to the United States public.
On Saturday morning, Tom Cruise He took to his social media to declare that he was still “very proud of what we created,” referring to the project.
Considering the studio spent another $100 million on the global marketing campaign, the theatrical breakeven point for Digger It is estimated at around $350 million worldwide, although a spokesperson for Warner Bros. put it at 300 million dollars.
Tom Cruise as the oil tycoon who stars in “Digger,” the satire directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu that debuted with $8 million in North America (Warner Bros.)
In any case, the film faces theatrical losses of between 150 and 200 million dollars. The picture is further complicated because Cruise receives a percentage of the gross before the studio recovers its costs.
“Even with respectable ancillary revenues, given the reputation of the film,” Gross said, referring to sources such as digital rentals, sales and streaming licenses, “the film is going to lose a lot of money.”
The setback comes at a particularly delicate moment for Warner Bros.whose fusion with Supreme It is scheduled for October 6.
Days before the premiere it was learned that the co-presidents of the studio, Mike DeLuca and pam abdyThey will leave the company at the close of the operation.
The duo had had an exceptional 2025 with titles such as sinners and A Minecraft moviebut none of its 2026 bets have exceeded $100 million in the domestic market.
The film that could become one of the biggest theatrical losses in the history of cinema with up to USD 200 million in the red (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
While Digger was sinking, the adaptation of the novel by Carolina Hoover TRUE —produced by Amazon MGM Studios— took first place with $32.6 million from 3,510 theaters.
78% of the audience was female and the largest age group (38%) corresponded to people between 25 and 34 years old.
Directed by Michael Showalterthe movie starring Anne Hathaway, dakota johnson and Josh Hartnett It also earned a C+ on CinemaScore and a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, but its low budget of $40 million puts it on track for profitability. Globally, it totaled 62.5 million dollars.
“The debut of TRUE “It is another victory for films with female protagonists at the box office,” he stated. Shawn Robbinsdirector of analysis fandango and founder of Box office theory.
Second place went to resident Evil (sony), which in its third weekend grossed $12.5 million to accumulate $124.8 million in North America and $215 million globally, on a budget of $75 million.
The adaptation of the book ‘Verity’ accumulated more than sixty million dollars worldwide on a budget of forty million. (Video capture)
In third position was heart of the beast (Supreme), with 11 million dollars in its second weekend and a drop of 45% compared to its debut.
The film starring Brad Pitt totals 38.3 million dollars in the domestic market and 98.6 million dollars worldwide, on the verge of reaching 100 million dollars globally.
Fourth place was disputed between Digger and prime time (A24), the drama starring Robert Pattinsonwhich in its second weekend earned $8 million for a domestic total of $34 million, with a budget of just $15 million.
The domestic box office has accumulated $7.95 billion so far this year, an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2025, according to Rentrak.
The market is about $50 million away from reaching $8 billion — a threshold that in 2025 was not crossed until December.
