Tom Cruise’s new movie opened to just $8 million in the U.S. and Canada, and the Digger box office numbers are already being called one of the year’s biggest flops. The $20 million global debut came with a reported production budget of $125 million to $180 million, depending on the outlet.
Meanwhile, a $40 million thriller took first place. Here is what the final weekend numbers show, why the gap is so wide, and what happens next.
Digger Box Office: The Opening Weekend Numbers
“Digger” debuted in fifth place for the weekend of October 2-4, 2026, with $8 million from 3,321 theaters, according to Box Office Pro. That works out to roughly $2,409 per theater. Another $12 million came from overseas, for about $20 million worldwide.
Early Friday-based estimates had pointed to about $10 million, as we reported in our Friday box office report. The final number landed lower. Hollywood Outbreak says the studio had reportedly hoped for a $18-20 million domestic opening.
Box Office Pro says it is Cruise’s lowest opening since “Lions for Lambs” in 2007. Deadline, as quoted by The People Argue, framed it as his lowest in 19 years.
How Big Is the Digger Box Office Problem?
This is where it gets tricky, because the reported costs vary. Filmofilia lists a $125 million production budget. Turkiye Today says $125-150 million, plus an estimated $100 million for marketing. Hollywood Outbreak says costs reportedly grew to $160-180 million, with breakeven estimates of $300-350 million worldwide.
AV Club cites Deadline in saying the film is expected to lose around $150 million. We were not able to open the Deadline report directly, so treat that number as secondhand, and treat all the budgets as reported estimates, not confirmed studio figures.
The takeaway: no matter which budget you use, an $8 million start leaves a very long road to break even.
Verity Wins the Weekend
The story at the top of the chart was a very different one. “Verity,” the Colleen Hoover adaptation starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, opened to about $32.6 million domestically, per Box Office Pro, and around $62.6 million worldwide.
Directed by Michael Showalter, it skewed 78% female, according to Box Office Pro. It is the second-best opening among recent Colleen Hoover films, behind “It Ends With Us” at $50 million, and ahead of “Reminders of Him” at $18 million.
AV Club notes it is Hathaway’s third number-one opening of 2026, after “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “The Odyssey.” Want the cast background first? See our Verity release date and cast guide.
Same Grade, Different Outcomes
Both films earned a “C+” CinemaScore from opening-night audiences, per Filmofilia and Box Office Pro. That grade is middling. The difference is the price tag: a $40 million film can live with a middling grade, while a $125 million-plus film needs a long run of word of mouth.
What Critics Said, and Why It Matters Less Than You’d Think
Reviews for both films were mixed. We broke down the divide over Cruise’s role in Digger Movie Reviews: Why Critics Can’t Agree on Tom Cruise’s Wildest Role Yet. Box Office Pro lists a 51% critics score for “Digger,” and a lower 33% for “Verity,” though other outlets cite different Rotten Tomatoes numbers for “Verity” (The People Argue says 44%), and scores shift over time.
The People Argue also notes a pattern: Hoover adaptations tend to score better with audiences than critics. Reviews did not stop “Verity” from winning. They just did not help “Digger” either.
The Digger Box Office in Context
Box Office Pro puts the total three-day weekend gross at about $99 million, down 22.4% from the previous weekend but up 18.9% from the same weekend a year ago. So the overall market is holding up. The disappointment is specific to one film, not a sign that audiences are staying home.
Here is how the top five looked, per Box Office Pro:
| Rank | Film | Weekend | Total so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verity | $32.6M | $32.6M |
| 2 | Resident Evil | $12.5M | $124.9M |
| 3 | Heart of the Beast | $11M | $38.4M |
| 4 | Primetime | $8M | $34.1M |
| 5 | Digger | $8M | $8M |
Note that “Primetime” and “Digger” both took in about $8 million, but “Primetime” got there across fewer theaters and is already past $34 million in total after a longer run.
A Tale of Two Price Tags
“Verity” earned a per-theater average of about $9,293, nearly four times “Digger’s” figure. That is the simplest way to see why the weekend felt so lopsided: the cheaper film filled seats, while the pricier one left plenty empty.
Why Did Digger Struggle?
Nobody has a single answer, and we should be careful not to pretend otherwise. But the reports point to a few likely factors:
- A hard sell. The film is described as an R-rated black comedy, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, in which Cruise plays an oil tycoon tied to a natural disaster. That is far from the action franchises that built his box office record.
- Mixed reviews before release. Turkiye Today says Warner Bros. responded with an unusual campaign inviting audiences to “decide for yourself.”
- Crowded competition. “Resident Evil” held second place at $12.5 million and a global total above $245 million, per AV Club.
- A big budget. The higher the cost, the less room there is for a soft start.
It’s worth remembering that Iñárritu won back-to-back Best Director Oscars for “Birdman” and “The Revenant,” per Turkiye Today. A strong track record does not guarantee a strong opening.
Where This Fits in Cruise’s Career
Cruise built his box office reputation on franchises, and Turkiye Today points to “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun: Maverick” as the films that made him a major draw. “Digger” is a different kind of project: an R-rated satire from a director known for awards-season dramas, not summer spectacle.
According to The People Argue, the previous low for a Cruise opening was “Lions for Lambs” in 2007, which started at $6.7 million. That means this is a low point in a career that spans decades, not a pattern. One film’s opening rarely tells you much about the next one.
What “Breakeven” Actually Means
When you see a breakeven figure of $300-350 million, it is a rough rule of thumb. Theaters keep a share of every ticket sold, so a studio typically needs a film to earn well above its production and marketing costs before the numbers work. Hollywood Outbreak cites that range as a reported estimate, and no official figure has been published in the sources we read.
Home viewing, streaming deals and international growth can still change the final math. A weak opening makes the climb harder, but it does not settle the film’s financial fate by itself.
What Cruise Said and What Comes Next
Cruise posted on social media that he was honored to have created the film alongside talented artists, according to Turkiye Today. Nothing we read suggests any change to the film’s release plans.
Next weekend, AV Club says “Other Mommy” is expected to open around $35 million, which could push “Digger” further down the chart. Second weekends for adult-skewing films often fall sharply, so the big question is how well it holds, not whether it will catch up.
Note: this article reports box office results and does not assess the film’s quality or anyone’s career. One weak opening, even a historic one, rarely ends a star’s run, and Cruise’s other films have been enormous hits.
What to Do Next
- Judge it yourself. Box office results say nothing about whether you will enjoy a film. Watch a trailer and read a few reviews first.
- Check the second weekend. Monday’s holdover numbers will show whether word of mouth helps or hurts.
- Look for a streaming date. Big-budget films usually reach home viewing within weeks, so there is no rush if you are on the fence.
For more weekend results and what to watch next, follow usaneonews.com and check back every Monday. Sources include Box Office Pro and Hollywood Outbreak. Last updated October 7, 2026.
