Tom Cruise's Digger Stumbles With $8m Opening as Verity Takes No. 1

Tom Cruise's Digger has stumbled on opening weekend, with studio estimates of $8 million from 3,300 theatres in the United States and Canada for the weekend ending 4 October 2026.

That put the Warner Bros. release well behind Amazon MGM Studios' Verity, which earned $33 million to rank No. 1 domestically, meaning the United States and Canada, over the same frame, according to figures reported by Deadline. The Sunday numbers are studio estimates until Monday's actuals confirm them.

Digger stars Cruise in the title role in an original film from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, according to Warner Bros. The production carries a budget of $125 million, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The result came in below expectations. Warner Bros. had projected a $12 million to $15 million opening heading into the weekend, while earlier third-party tracking had suggested closer to $30 million, the Reporter said. The film grossed $3.3 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Overseas, Digger added $12 million internationally in its opening weekend. That gives it $8 million domestically plus $12 million internationally at the start of its run.

It is Cruise's softest opening since 2007's Lions for Lambs, which launched to $6.7 million. That comparison was reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Audience and press response was muted. Digger received a C+ CinemaScore, a grade drawn from opening-night audience polls, and holds 51 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator. Verity also received a C+ CinemaScore from audiences.

Verity is based on Colleen Hoover's novel 'Verity' and had been projected to earn $55 million at the worldwide box office, according to Deadline. Its $33 million domestic start was enough to take the top spot on the chart over Digger's opening weekend.

For Warner Bros., the maths is difficult. With a $125 million production budget against an $8 million domestic start, Digger will be a significant financial loss for the studio, the Reporter said.

What makes this stand out is the combination. A global star, an Oscar-winning director and an original story would normally be built for a stronger launch. This time, a book adaptation from a rival studio drew the larger crowd.