Tom Cruise's Digger Underperforms at Box Office

Tom Cruise's latest film, Digger, is off to a disappointing start at the box office, collecting around $3.3 million on its opening day, including preview screenings from Thursday.

The underwhelming performance has raised concerns that the movie may not meet Warner Bros.' projected range of $12 million to $15 million for its weekend debut, which would be a significant blow considering Digger's hefty production budget of $125 million.

Digger is expected to open with around $8 million, marking one of the lowest openings in Cruise's career since 2007's war drama Lions for Lambs, which debuted with $6.7 million on a much smaller budget.

The movie has received mixed reviews from audiences, earning a C+ CinemaScore, one of the worst grades given to a film starring Cruise and matching the score of Lions for Lambs. This polarizing reaction suggests that Digger may be struggling to appeal to a broad audience.

Digger's performance is all the more surprising given its star-studded cast, which includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, and Sandra Hüller, who join Cruise in his role as an overweight and balding oil tycoon at the center of the film.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Tom Cruise's latest film "Digger has failed to impress audiences at the box office, raking in less than $10 million.

The film's performance is a far cry from what was expected, given its star-studded cast and the typically reliable box office draw of Tom Cruise. However, critics have been divided on the film's quality, with 51 percent of reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes giving it their approval.

As Digger struggles to find its footing at the box office, Warner Bros. is facing a challenging period ahead as it prepares for its merger with Paramount Skydance later this month. The studio's film chiefs, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, have announced that they will be exiting their roles in the wake of the merger.

The departure of De Luca and Abdy comes after a successful 2025 for Warner Bros., which saw the release of several critically acclaimed films, including Oscar winners One Battle After Another" and "Sinners. However, the studio's fortunes have taken a downturn this year, with less encouraging results from its latest releases.

Industry experts are advising that expectations should be tempered when it comes to assessing the box office performance of Digger", given Cruise's typical association with high-octane action films rather than more experimental fare like his latest release.

Verity, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel, is on track to top the weekend box office charts, thanks in part to its spooky season timing. The thriller, directed by Michael Showalter and starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, raked in $15.1 million on Friday, including Thursday previews.

The film's performance comes as a contrast to Tom Cruise's Digger, which is struggling at the box office with less than $10 million so far. Like Digger, Verity received a disappointing CinemaScore from audiences, earning a C+ grade for its story of Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson) taking on a ghostwriting job for acclaimed author Verity Crawford (Hathaway).