Tom Cruise has suffered his lowest opening in 19 years as Digger debuted to just $8 million domestically and $20 million globally, putting the $160 million net-priced film on track to lose around $150 million at the box office.
How Digger could become a costly box office misfire after an $8 million opening weekend
The Digger box office collapse is an unexpected reversal for a film that paired Tom Cruise with director Alejandro Iñárritu. Audiences handed it a C+ CinemaScore, while critics settled at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Deadline sources claim the movie needs roughly $50 million globally just to soften the blow. Yet, tracking suggests it may fall short of even that modest target.
Insiders break down $127 million in total revenues against $275 million in global costs, a number that includes nearly $100 million in worldwide marketing. Warner Bros. greenlit the project at $125 million based on the Cruise-Iñárritu pairing, but an extended UK shoot at Leavesden pushed the net cost to around $160 million.
Moreover, negative word of mouth took hold before opening weekend. Social analytics firm RelishMix recorded positive sentiment sliding from 8.1 out of 10 in mid-September to 6.4 by release. Online commenters questioned whether the film was satire or self-parody, with some calling the trailer confusing.
The timing compounds the pain. Warner Bros. just posted a milestone $4.3 billion global gross for 2025, its best since 2019. The misfire also lands as Skydance co-CEO David Ellison declined to honor Warner Bros. Motion Picture Chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy’s contracts.
Allies of Tom Cruise argue that every theatrical release lifts his library’s value, which sits at $14 billion+ across 53 titles. Paramount insiders made a similar case when Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning underperformed. So, time will tell how Dogger box office plays out.
