The Tom Cruise-led movie \u201cDigger\u201d cratered at the box office this weekend, limping to a fifth-place finish with $8 million in the U.S. and Canada in its theatrical debut.<\/p>\n
The Warner Bros. film was expected to do poorly after polarizing reviews from critics and a challenging marketing campaign. The film had a production budget of about $125 million. Worldwide, the film brought in just $20 million in its opening weekend, meaning the studio will probably post a significant loss from the release.<\/p>\n
A representative of Warner Bros. did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 \u201cVerity,\u201d starring Anne Hathaway, easily lapped \u201cDigger,\u201d coming in first at the domestic box office with a haul of $32.6 million. The film made $62.5 million worldwide.<\/p>\n
The underwhelming performance from \u201cDigger\u201d marks a rare misfire from the usually bankable Cruise and adds to a difficult year for Warner Bros.\u2019 film studio<\/a>, whose lineup of movies has struggled to connect with audiences. That\u2019s in stark contrast to 2025, when the studio ran up a string of hits<\/a> such as \u201cSinners\u201d and \u201cWeapons.\u201d<\/p>\n It also comes as Paramount Skydance\u2019s $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is set to close Tuesday<\/a>. As part of the merger, there have already been several management shake-ups, including the exit of Warner Bros. film chiefs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca<\/a>. The duo oversaw the studio for the last four years, providing a mixed bag of hits and misses for the Burbank-based studio.<\/p>\n The deal is expected to dramatically reshape Hollywood by combining two of the major studios, a move that is expected to lead to massive layoffs. Paramount has already told Wall Street that it\u2019s planning $6 billion in cost cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cDigger\u201d is the result of nine years of work, as director Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu started on the project before the pandemic. The film is a satire about an impending climate change apocalypse that\u2019s triggered by the drilling operations of oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, played by Cruise, who looks nearly unrecognizable clad in prosthetics and graying hair.<\/p>\n In a post-screening, onstage discussion last week, Cruise noted the carefully handcrafted props and sets.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is practical,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was so beautiful, and I just have to say … AI can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Sony Pictures\u2019 \u201cResident Evil\u201d came in second at the box office this weekend with $12.5 million in its third weekend in theaters. Paramount\u2019s \u201cHeart of the Beast\u201d ($11 million) and A24\u2019s \u201cPrimetime\u201d ($8 million) ranked third and fourth.<\/p>\n As of last week, Warner Bros.\u2019 domestic box-office haul this year was $437.7 million, representing about 5.6% of the total theatrical revenue in the U.S. and Canada, according to Rentrak data.<\/p>\n