Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Opening Day Box Office Estimate Revealed and It’s Disappointing

Avatar photoValentina Kraljik
Digger 8
Share:

Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu make an intriguing duo, and ‘Digger’ was always set to be a bold venture. This film marks Iñárritu’s first English-language project since ‘The Revenant,’ and it also represents Cruise’s first collaboration with Warner Bros. since 2014’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’

In ‘Digger,’ Cruise portrays Digger Rockwell, a pompous oil tycoon whose company triggers an ecological catastrophe that endangers humanity. The film’s budget reportedly escalated from an initial $125 million to between $160 million and $180 million, necessitating a break-even point of around $350 million. It premiered on October 2 across 3,321 theaters in North America.

Initial estimates for its opening day have started to emerge. The X account Itsjat32 tweeted on October 3 that ‘Digger’ is projected to earn about $2 million for Friday, leading to an estimated $3.25 million for the opening day. The same post forecasts the weekend total to be around $7 million.

This estimate follows Thursday night previews, which garnered $1.2 million. Deadline’s Friday evening update offered a slightly more hopeful outlook, suggesting an opening day total of about $4 million, including previews, with a projected weekend of $10 million. However, this would still indicate a weak start for such a costly film.

Forecasts have been declining over the weeks. A long-range estimate from Box Office Pro initially predicted the film would earn between $20 million and $30 million. Warner Bros. later revised their expectations to $12 million to $15 million, while Box Office Theory estimated $7.5 million to $12.5 million, with some competitors placing ‘Digger’ in the high single digits.

If the $7 million estimate holds true, it would mark a historically low opening for Cruise. Deadline points out that a $10 million opening would be his weakest in 19 years, dating back to 2007’s ‘Lions for Lambs,’ which debuted at $6.7 million. The preview total also falls short of the $3.1 million that ‘One Battle After Another’ earned on its way to a $22 million opening, although it did surpass the $770,000 that ‘Megalopolis’ made in previews before opening to $4 million.

The competition is also proving challenging. Colleen Hoover’s ‘Verity’ raked in $4.5 million during previews and is projected to take the top spot with around $32 million, making it a tough competitor for ‘Digger’ to even secure second place.

Reviews have been mixed, complicating the film’s marketing efforts. Much of the film’s content was kept under wraps leading up to its release. IndieWire rated it a C+ and described it as a surreal misfire. Meanwhile, Deadline praised Cruise’s performance but noted that the satire might be one of the more divisive films in recent memory.

The timing is particularly awkward for Warner Bros., as the film’s release coincides with the departure of studio heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy after their contracts were not renewed by new owner Paramount.

Weekend estimates will continue to evolve through Sunday, with final figures expected on Monday. Cruise’s upcoming major release, ‘Days of Thunder 2’ alongside Anne Hathaway, may appear significantly more commercially viable by comparison.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!

Share: