{"id":916389,"date":"2026-10-05T00:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T00:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916389\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T00:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T00:18:09","slug":"digger-tom-cruise-movie-bombs-at-box-office-will-lose-150m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916389\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Digger’: Tom Cruise Movie Bombs at Box Office, Will Lose $150M"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTom Cruise<\/a> will not be jumping on any couches this weekend. <\/p>\n

\n\tThis as the Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible blockbuster star posts his lowest opening in 19 years, that being the reported $160M net priced Digger<\/a>, which didn\u2019t find an audience with an $8M domestic debut, a $20M global overall start and a C+ CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

\n\tMyriad sources tell us that the film stands to lose around $150M and that\u2019s if it\u2019s lucky to get to a global box office of $50M. Post pandemic pricey fall disasters such as last year\u2019s Dwayne Johnson-starring The Smashing Machine and the 2022 Margot Robbie, Christian Bale and John David Washington absurdist period title Amsterdam, had similar single digit domestic openings, and finaled lower with respective global grosses of $21.1M and $31.2M, as]nd off of respective smaller budgets of $50M and $80M.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe timing of Digger\u2018s bombing is Shakespearan, coming at the most stinging moment when Skydance<\/a> co-CEO (n\u00e9 Paramount CEO) David Ellison<\/a> refused to honor Warner Bros Motion Picture Chiefs Michael De Luca<\/a> and Pamela Abdy<\/a>\u2018s contracts and bring them into the fold. This after Warner\u2019s milestone 2025 global gross of $4.3B, the best since 2019, and 11 Oscar wins. The new ParaBros is inheriting several Burbank lot lucrative IP assets shepherded by De Luca and Abdy, such as Oceans Eleven, Gremlins, Gladys, Minecraft 2 and more going forward, 38 features overall, dated into 2029. In 2027, the Paramount-Warners Bros slate will overdeliver the state AG\u2019s demands of 30 films annually with 36 titles.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did Warners pick up a shovel and break ground on a filibustery-dialogue driven satire about the MAGA era which follows an oil tycoon whose latest ice caps project literally misfires, causing a global environmental disaster? (Those who\u2019ve seen Digger know there\u2019s a meta twist).<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u00f1\u00e1rritu first developed what would become Digger at Netflix (the project had a different title) where he made the 2 hour-39 minute stream of consciousness art movie Bardo. At the time, Leonardo DiCaprio was eyeing, however, after the streamer made the very similar $75M Adam McKay-directed environmental satire, Don\u2019t Look Up, I\u00f1\u00e1rritu took the project to his Revenant producer Mary Parent at Legendary. There, Digger was developed with Tom Cruise in mind.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Emmanuel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tEmmanuel Lubezki, Pamela Abdy, Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, Tom Cruise, Mary Parent, Andy Sherman and Michael De Luca attend the \u2018Digger\u2019 premiere on Sept. 22, 2026 in London, England.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoe Maher\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tCut to 2024. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav is hot-for-teacher to land Cruise post-Top Gun Maverick, and dispatches De Luca and Abdy to make a non-exclusive originals and franchise deal with the global star. The first project under the pact? Digger. Pamela Abdy had worked with I\u00f1\u00e1rritu on his $17M priced Oscar-winning Birdman and $135M costing Leonardo DiCaprio western The Revenant while she was Production President at New Regency from 2013 to 2016. De Luca worked with Cruise when he was President and COO of New Line on the much thriftier priced Magnolia, also from Paul Thomas Anderson, which landed the star his third Oscar nomination (in Supporting Actor) at the time.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCruise and Jason Robards Jr. in \u2018Magnolia\u2019 <\/p>\n

\n\tDe Luca and Abdy, we hear, ran Digger through their analytical comps system. The combo of Cruise and I\u00f1\u00e1rritu justified a $125M production greenligiht. Legendary\u2019s development costs were bought out by Warners, hence the reason why the production company isn\u2019t co-financing ala other Warner projects like Dune and the Godzilla Kong movies. The cost with an extended schedule rose to around a net $160M shoot at Leavesden in the UK with tax credits. Many sources have argued that the cost was substantially higher before the pic\u2019s near $100M global theatrical marketing spend.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the LA Westwood premiere, Cruise exclaimed to De Luca and Abdy, \u201cYou didn\u2019t even take a breath when we brought you this film. I don\u2019t even think you turned the page on it. You\u2019re just like \u2014 you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhich raises the question, exactly which studio executive says \u201cno\u201d to Cruise?<\/p>\n

\n\tWith De Luca and Abdy painted by some as spendthrift in their loss of motion picture boss jobs at the new Skydance, let that executive who has said \u201cno\u201d to Cruise on his productions, cast the first stone.<\/p>\n

\n\tSkydance was heavily involved in the co-financing of lengthy Cruise shoots Top Gun: Maverick (net $177M) and the last two Mission: Impossible movies, Dead Reckoning and Final Reckoning, which carried an exorbitant combined cost between $591M and $691M, again, those budgets driven up partly due to Covid stops, but also Cruise\u2019s well known fastidiousness and drive for perfection. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe problem is that there\u2019s no one in Cruise\u2019s camp to tell him \u2018no\u2019, and what might not work,\u201d says one high level source who was involved with the Mission movies, \u201cIt used to be his producing partner Paula Wagner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEveryone knows he likes to direct on the set,\u201d adds another, \u201cI don\u2019t know how that worked out with Alejandro because he doesn\u2019t take direction from anyone.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tDe Luca and Abdy did tell Cruise \u201cno,\u201d and that\u2019s when they passed on the actor\u2019s project, Deeper, with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman, a supernatural underwater thriller that carried a $270M budget ask and no script at the time. The project remains in deep development at Universal. De Luca and Abdy also passed on making Michael Mann\u2019s Heat 2, the sequel to a lucrative title in the Warner library as the budget for that movie climbed to $160M, which was cheap enough for $2.7 trillion conglomerate Amazon to make.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first weekend of October, a hot frame where Warners launched the first Joker to a final gross of $1.07B WW and A Star Is Born to $440M WW, was chosen. Marketing began to tease the movie as the role that we\u2019ve never seen Cruise in: an old, crusty, balding Texan waving a shovel heroically in an apartment. Toe-dip screenings with illuminati critics showed great promise. We hear there were two test screenings. The first with a half hour longer edit didn\u2019t go so well, however, a second test with a half hour shorter edit (approaching the pic\u2019s current 2 hour, 9 minute running time) went much better. Insurance covered a reshoot involving Cruise\u2019s makeup following the first test screening. Cruise began pre-production on the movie while doing press for Final Reckoning last year.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Cruise worked it in regards to opening the movie including a stop at April\u2019s CinemaCon, UK world premiere with the Royals, Q&As and even an appearance on Jennifer Hudson, his availability to the press wasn\u2019t 100%. Read, trades were barred from red carpet appearances despite Cruise\u2019s constant availably to them on the last two Mission: Impossibles and several red carpets for Top Gun: Maverick.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn July, LA-based press were invited to the Warners Burbank lot for the first trailer drop. Mobile phones were pulled, and questions not asked by the media as they watched Cruise onstage with a Gen Z podcaster who gushed over the star\u2019s achievements and the promises of Digger. Later on, Cruise met and took a professional photo with each reporter in the room in addition to a massive group photo outside the Steve J. Ross theater on the Burbank lot.<\/p>\n

\n\tWalking away, anecdotally, those in the room had their suspicions about Cruise in a Doctor Strangelove-like movie.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I see Tom Cruise, I want to see him as the Tom Cruise I know, not with all this makeup,\u201d exclaimed one O.G. entertainment journalist. <\/p>\n

\n\tDigger initially came on NRG tracking three weeks ago with an opening range of $17M-$23M. Those close to the movie say they were shocked by the polarizing reviews which stand at 51% Rotten. Bad word set in, not just here, but around the world, a 180 to the vibrant critical reaction and audience reception on One Battle After Another (94% certified fresh, and A CinemaScore).<\/p>\n

\n\tPositive online buzz fell on Digger in RelishMix metrics from an 8.1 out of 10 on Sept. 15, to a 6.4 before opening. Said the social analytics corp in their weekly report: \u201cChatter has been mixed-negative for Digger. There\u2019s skepticism with viewers who love the idea of Cruise, but side-eye the execution: \u2018Impressive that after a nearly three-minute long trailer, I still don\u2019t really know what this movie\u2019s about.\u2019 The sharpest criticism isn\u2019t about hating the movie, it\u2019s about distrust, suspicion that the \u2018aging gracefully\u2019 narrative is a PR construct. Comments needle at the film\u2019s tonal identity, wondering if it\u2019s satire or self-parody, \u2018For me this looked funny at first viewing. Second time it just looks cynical and a bad Kubrick\u2019s Dr. Strangelove rip-off. Hope my first take is right.\u2019 Plus, \u2018Why does this look like Tropic Thunder cosplay\u2019 along with, \u2018I understand even less about this movie after the full trailer than I did after the teaser.\u2019 And, there are grumbles about the promo montage in the \u2018Tom Cruise Retrospective\u2019 trailer feeling like a premature Oscars reel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u00f1\u00e1rritu said he made the movie as a love letter to the younger generation, despite it starring a bunch of right wing-like crusty old dudes. Ironically, the 18-34 demo showed up at 60% majority, though clearly not enough of them.<\/p>\n

\n\tThose close to Cruise have argued that even with Digger bombing, every time he has a new theatrical release it raises the whole value and churn of his library again; his box office worth standing at $14B+ across 53 titles. A similar excuse was given by Paramount insiders when Mission: Impossible-Final Reckoning didn\u2019t hit an enormous box office number: The movie won\u2019t profit in its first go-round, rather its nth cycle. <\/p>\n

\n\tBreaking down the $148M estimated loss, this is realized per sources based on $127M in total revenues, meaning theatrical rentals, airline monies, domestic home streaming, PVOD, international TV and global costs of $275M, and that\u2019s not just worldwide P&A near $100M, but also global home and TV costs. This is also figuring that Warners unleashes Digger on POVD soon and does a decent number relative to the box office cause people are curious.<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, at the end of the day, Digger is Birdman all over again, and should have been positioned as an awards arthouse play. Such originality comes at substantially less than $50M production costs. But again, Digger stars Cruise at full freight.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat would De Luca and Abdy\u2019s fates had been at the new Skydance had the merger closed after Dune: Part Three? <\/p>\n

\n\tThose in Ellison\u2019s ears have whispered about the duo\u2019s audacious bets, when the box office reality is that these titles (six-time Oscar winner and Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s highest-grossing movie One Battle After Another, and 4x Oscar winner and $372M grossing Sinners, and the bomb The Bride) were a small part of a very commercial run for the two that included the near billion dollar-grossing A Minecraft Movie, the highest grossing Final Destination, Conjuring and Beetlejuce movies of all-time, the launch of another auteur in Zach Cregger\u2019s Weapons, half of Twisters, upcoming holiday family title The Cat in the Hat and the hopeful billion dollar grossing title Dune: Part Three and much more to come.<\/p>\n

\n\tExclaimed one rival distribution exec who has never worked with De Luca and Abdy, \u201cWhen Mike and Pam hit it out of the park, they hit it out the park.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tWarner Bros didn\u2019t return request for comment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Cruise will not be jumping on any couches this weekend. This as the Top Gun: Maverick and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":916390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,20552,295612,134,91141,91142,17126,17689],"class_list":["post-916389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-david-ellison","tag-digger","tag-entertainment","tag-michael-de-luca","tag-pamela-abdy","tag-skydance","tag-tom-cruise"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}