Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ heads for his weakest weekend in 19 years: about $3.2 million on opening day, ~$7 million for the weekend

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film “Digger”, starring Tom Cruise, is heading for a catastrophic opening weekend in North American cinemas. Opened on 2 October in 3,321 venues, the film collected $1.2 million from Thursday previews, while Friday brought about $2 million — around $3.25 million for opening day, including previews, as Deadline reports. Industry estimates place the weekend at around $7 million.

The numbers are far below initial expectations: Box Office Pro had long forecast $20–30 million, Warner Bros. hoped for $12–15 million, while some rivals feared even high single figures. According to Deadline, Friday evening’s update was slightly more optimistic: about $4 million for opening day, including previews, and $10 million for the weekend.

If the $10 million figure holds, it will be Cruise’s weakest opening in 19 years — since 2007’s “Lions for Lambs”, which debuted with $6.7 million. The financial context makes the situation even graver: the budget rose from $125 million to a reported $160–180 million, pushing the break-even point close to $350 million.

Meanwhile, “Verity”, with Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, is reaping success: the film earned $4.5 million from previews and is heading for about $32 million and first place for the weekend.

“Digger” is Iñárritu’s first English-language film since “The Revenant”, while for Cruise it is his first film with Warner Bros. since “Edge of Tomorrow” in 2014. The actor plays Digger Rockwell, an oil magnate whose company causes an ecological catastrophe; the cast also includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Reviews are divided: IndieWire gave the film a C+, while Deadline’s review praised Cruise but called the satire divisive.