Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Struggles at the Box Office in Warner Bros. Final Stand
Tom Cruise has built a reputation for delivering films that are almost guaranteed to become major theatrical events. With hits like ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series, he has become synonymous with the big-screen experience. This made ‘Digger,’ a daring project from Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, one of the most anticipated films of the fall season.
In this apocalyptic satire, Cruise portrays Digger Rockwell, an arrogant oil tycoon whose actions lead to an ecological catastrophe threatening humanity. The cast includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons. Notably, this marks Cruise’s first non-action film in over a decade and his first collaboration with Warner Bros. in 12 years, as the studio hoped to position it as an awards contender to secure him a fourth Oscar nomination.
Tom Cruise’s DIGGER made only $1.2M in previews yesterday on a massive $180M budget.
In fact, we’re now projecting the movie to open to less than $10M domestically and under $20M worldwide.
It’s a disaster for WB! pic.twitter.com/URGau5Xjta
— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) October 2, 2026
The initial box office figures are disheartening. According to Deadline, ‘Digger’ earned a mere $1.2 million during Thursday previews, with the film described as underperforming across the board. Global Box Office has projected an opening weekend of less than $10 million domestically and under $20 million globally, labeling the outcome a disaster for Warner Bros.
Comparisons to previous films do not favor ‘Digger.’ Last year’s ‘One Battle After Another’ made $3.1 million in previews and eventually opened to $22 million. While ‘Digger’ did surpass the $770,000 previews of Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis,’ which opened to $4 million, this is hardly a reassuring benchmark. JoBlo predicts the film may not exceed $11 million, which would mark Cruise’s weakest opening since ‘Lions for Lambs’ in 2007.
Warner Bros. had initially projected a $12 million to $15 million start, with earlier estimates reaching as high as $18 million to $20 million. The film debuted in over 3,300 North American locations. In contrast, ‘Verity’ garnered $4.5 million in previews and is expected to take the weekend’s top spot.
The financial implications of these results are significant. The official production budget stands at $125 million, but reports suggest it swelled to between $160 million and $180 million due to production delays, a figure disputed by a Warner Bros. spokesperson. Industry insiders told Variety that a film of this scale would need to debut around $40 million to justify its costs.
With approximately $100 million allocated for marketing, the break-even point is estimated to be around $350 million worldwide, although the studio claims it needs about $300 million to recover costs. Achieving these numbers seems daunting given the film’s underwhelming opening. ‘Digger’ would require remarkable staying power to even approach those figures.
Reviews have been mixed. ‘Digger’ opened with a 52% score on Rotten Tomatoes, marking Cruise’s first rotten film since ‘The Mummy’ in 2017 and the lowest-rated entry in Iñárritu’s filmography. It holds a 45 on Metacritic, with one critic likening it to an overly long sketch with an inexplicably large budget.
However, not all critics share this view. Some have lauded Cruise’s performance as electric and described the film as a bold, ambitious endeavor with stunning visuals. Warner Bros. has even embraced the divisive feedback with a new promotional spot encouraging audiences to form their own opinions.
A new trailer for ‘DIGGER’ has been released.
In theaters October 2. pic.twitter.com/kTEeFZI14E
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 9, 2026
The timing of this release could not be worse. ‘Digger’ is the last standalone release from Warner Bros., arriving just days before Paramount’s $110 billion merger concludes on October 6. It also coincides with the news that film executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy will not be joining the merged company.
This marks a challenging year for the studio, which has already faced setbacks with films like ‘The Bride!,’ ‘Supergirl,’ and ‘The End of Oak Street.’ Looking ahead, upcoming projects such as DC’s ‘Clayface’ and ‘The Cat in the Hat’ are likely to be passed on to Paramount. For a studio that celebrated a Best Picture win just a year ago, this represents a significant downturn.
Whether positive word of mouth or awards buzz can salvage ‘Digger’ remains uncertain, but the opening weekend numbers are undeniably grim.
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