The much-anticipated 'Digger,' starring Tom Cruise in a dramatic departure from his usual action-hero roles, has stumbled badly at the North American box office. The film, from acclaimed director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is estimated to gross a mere $8 million from over 3,300 theaters in its opening frame, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This figure falls significantly short of Warner Bros.' already modest projections of $12 million to $15 million, creating a substantial financial challenge for a project that carries a hefty $125 million production budget.
This marks the lowest opening weekend for Cruise since 2007's war drama 'Lions for Lambs,' which debuted with $6.7 million on a much smaller budget. The audience reception for 'Digger' has been similarly lukewarm, earning a C+ CinemaScore – identical to 'Lions for Lambs' and considered one of the lowest grades of Cruise's career. Critics have also been divided, with the film holding a 51 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic, David Rooney, notably deemed the movie "dead and buried."
In 'Digger,' Cruise transforms into an overweight and balding oil tycoon, a significant creative risk for an actor largely known for his high-octane franchise work in recent decades. The satire, which also features Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, and Sandra Hüller, centers on Cruise's character causing a natural disaster.
The film's struggles come at a pivotal time for its distributor. 'Digger' is an inauspicious final release for Warner Bros. as a stand-alone studio, with its $111 billion merger with Paramount Skydance expected to finalize on October 6. The news also follows the recent announcement of Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy's departure, with Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein set to take the reins.
Industry observers note that 'Digger' represents a return to the kind of filmmaker-driven projects Cruise pursued earlier in his career, such as 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'Magnolia.' However, his fanbase has grown accustomed to action-packed blockbusters, leading to a potential disconnect. Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak, speaking to THR, commented, "We have to place our expectations around what this movie is and what it’s trying to be, rather than what the name Tom Cruise might normally be expected to deliver at the box office."
Meanwhile, the weekend's box office crown is set to go to Amazon MGM Studios' 'Verity.' The adaptation of Colleen Hoover's popular novel, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, is projected to earn an impressive $33.6 million in its debut. Interestingly, 'Verity' also received a C+ CinemaScore from audiences and holds a 34 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, suggesting that while it resonated more with moviegoers, it faced similar critical and audience polarization to 'Digger.'
