LOS ANGELES: Hollywood icon Tom Cruise has failed to recreate his box-office magic with his latest release, ‘Digger’, as the film raked in just $8 million domestically during its opening weekend.
The disappointing collections come as a major setback for the superstar, whose films have long been synonymous with blockbuster openings and massive theatrical success. According to Deadline, this marks Cruise’s lowest domestic opening in 19 years.
The satirical black comedy has reportedly been made on a production budget of $160 million to $180 million, but it seems difficult for Digger to recover its hefty cost, especially after its weak opening at the box office.
‘DIGGER’ has opened with $8M domestically on a projected budget of $160M-$180M.
Biggest Hollywood box office bomb of 2026 & one of the biggest bombs of all time. https://t.co/Hp6QtzqdUz
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 4, 2026
Digger will go down as a significant financial loss for Warner Bros., marking an inauspicious final release before Paramount Skydance’s USD 111 billion merger with the studio is expected to be finalised on October 6, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
The film sees Tom Cruise in a different role from the action-heavy projects he is known for. In ‘Digger’, the actor plays a balding and heavier oil tycoon, marking a shift from his recent franchise films.
The film takes Cruise back to the kind of filmmaker-led projects he worked on earlier in his career, including ‘Rain Man’, ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ and ‘Magnolia’. The box-office numbers suggest that audiences have not been particularly impressed with the film. However, the disappointing performance does not seem to have affected Tom Cruise.
After the release, he shared pictures from the shoot, thanking the cast and crew for their work. He said he’s proud of the film they made together. “Digger is officially in theatres, and I am so honoured to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists”, Cruise posted. “Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I’m so proud of what we created.”
Meanwhile, Nabbing the top spot on the domestic chart was Amazon MGM Studios’ Verity, as the feature adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel notched USD 32.6 million from 3,510 North American locations. The audience skewed heavily female at 78 percent, while 38 percent of Verity’s crowd fell between the ages of 25 and 34. (ANI)
