Digger heads for one of 2026’s biggest box-office flops as Tom Cruise’s Warner Bros. swing opens around $10 million

Digger is on course to become one of the biggest box-office disappointments of the year. CBC News reported that the R-rated black comedy, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, earned just $1.2 million in previews and that Warner Bros. expects an opening weekend of only $12 million to $15 million domestically, citing The Hollywood Reporter. Deadline’s Friday box-office update put the figure at roughly $10 million, which it described as Cruise’s lowest opening in 19 years.

The scale of the shortfall comes from the budget. According to Variety, as reported by CBC, costs rose from an original $125 million to between $160 million and $180 million, putting the break-even point around $350 million once marketing is included. Warner Bros. pushed back on that figure, telling Variety its actual break-even is closer to $300 million.

Digger by the numbers

Metric	Figure
Preview gross	$1.2 million, per CBC News
Opening-weekend projection	$12-15 million (Warner Bros. estimate via THR); about $10 million per Deadline
Original budget	$125 million, according to Variety
Final cost	$160-180 million, according to Variety
Break-even	About $350 million per Variety; about $300 million per Warner Bros.
Studio context	Warner Bros. domestic total of $448.4 million for Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, per Deadline

A risk from the start

CBC News described Digger as a bizarre story about an oil tycoon tasked with saving the world from a catastrophe his own drilling caused, and noted that it skipped the festival circuit entirely in the hope that word of mouth and star power would carry it. It is Cruise’s first non-franchise film since American Made in 2017, and Iñárritu arrived with two best director Oscars, for Birdman and The Revenant.

The early reviews undercut that strategy. CBC reported that the Boston Globe called it “the worst movie of Tom Cruise’s career”, RogerEbert.com described “a metafictional morass” and the New York Times labelled it “a lumbering white elephant of a movie”. In response, the producers released an ad featuring Cruise’s character cursing out critics. Even critics who admired the film, including CBC’s own reviewer, predicted it would be too experimental to recoup its budget.

The twist that divides opinion

Variety’s Friday opinion piece argued that the film’s big reveal is what saves it from being “a complete disaster”. The opening stretch, with Cruise in grotesque prosthetics as oilman Digger Rockwell, is described by Variety as shrill and tired. The film then reveals that everything so far has been a group of actors rehearsing a play about Digger called “Fossil Fools”, with Cruise dropping his Southern accent to play Curtis Markson, the star struggling to find the satire’s rhythm. Variety found that meta turn engaging and said it shows more of Cruise than audiences might expect, while concluding that the extra layer still does not make Digger must-see viewing.

Variety also credited the craft around the performance: cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki keeps the camera moving and Iñárritu brings swagger, it said, so the film is never dull even when it fails. The stage-play framing is underwritten in the story by Digger’s nephew Kenny, played by Jesse Plemons, who bought the rights to “Fossil Fools” and funds the production, while Sophie Wilde plays Hannah, the play’s director with whom Cruise’s actor argues about satire versus real events. Variety described the ending, in which the theatre audience puts on gas masks and walks out into flooded, militarised streets, as chilling, and noted that it may stand as a dour end to the last Warner Bros. film released before the merger.

What it means for Warner Bros. and Skydance

The timing could hardly be worse for the studio. CBC News reported that Digger is the last release before Warner Bros. is fully acquired by Paramount on Tuesday, and that it arrived the same weekend reports emerged that film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy would not continue after the merger. Deadline reported that the pair’s last day is Tuesday, and framed Digger, which it called a $125 million to $160 million-plus bomb, as part of a down year that followed a $4.3 billion 2025.

CBC noted that after a strong, awards-leading 2025 with hits including Sinners, Weapons and One Battle After Another, Warner Bros. has not had a single film pass $100 million domestically in 2026. The Bride!, Supergirl, The End of Oak Street and Practical Magic 2 all released to apparent losses, according to CBC, while Wuthering Heights, The Mummy and Evil Dead Burn posted positive numbers.

How it compares with the year’s other flops

At the most extreme estimates, CBC said, Digger could join 2026’s other high-profile failures: Melania, which earned roughly $16 million against a reported $40 million budget, and the Anthony Mackie-led Desert Warrior, which made less than $1 million against a reported $150 million budget and remains the year’s biggest failure. CBC added that the film could still prove valuable through awards attention for Cruise and strong brand recognition on streaming.

The broader question CBC raised is what the result signals for the new owners. A studio that just took a bold thematic swing and was punished for it at the box office is about to be folded into a cost-conscious conglomerate, and the outlet suggested that Digger’s reception could weigh on the artistic choices of the merged company. Final weekend figures are due Sunday.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Digger expected to make in its opening weekend?

Warner Bros. projected $12 million to $15 million domestically, according to The Hollywood Reporter as cited by CBC News, while Deadline’s Friday update put the figure at about $10 million, which it called Tom Cruise’s lowest opening in 19 years.

What did Digger cost to make?

Variety reported that the budget grew from $125 million to between $160 million and $180 million, with a break-even point around $350 million including marketing. Warner Bros. told Variety the break-even is closer to $300 million.

What is the twist in Digger?

According to Variety, the film reveals that its opening section is a group of actors rehearsing a stage play about the oilman Digger Rockwell called Fossil Fools, with Tom Cruise playing the actor Curtis Markson.

Is Digger the last Warner Bros. film before the Paramount merger?

CBC News reported that it is the last release before Warner Bros. is fully acquired by Paramount on Tuesday, when the merged company becomes Skydance.