‘Digger,’ Warner Bros.’ Last Release Before Merger, Is a Major Flop

On paper, it all sounded great. The superstar Tom Cruise meets the auteur Alejandro G. Iñárritu and together they construct a satire lampooning the power-hungry billionaire class. Warner Bros., the filmmaker-friendly studio under the guidance of Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, believe in Mr. Iñárritu, who had made two very different films, “Birdman” and “The Revenant,” into back-to-back best picture nominees.

But that was over a decade ago.

Whether audiences were rejecting the idea of their never-aging action star Mr. Cruise in a quirky dramatic role playing a gray-haired older man or they were following the dismal reviews of the film, “Digger” is on track in its opening weekend to be a resounding flop. Audiences gave the film a C, according to the marketing research company CinemaScore.

Opening in over 3,000 locations, the R-rated movie grossed an estimated $8 million for the weekend. The studio has said the film cost $125 million but others put the total closer to $150 million because of a delay in production after a cast member, John Goodman, fell on the set and had to recover before shooting could continue. With nearly $100 million more spent on marketing — Mr. Cruise only flies private — the studio could lose $125 million to $150 million in total, making it one of the biggest flops of the year.

It is an extraordinary capper for a year that has been marred by misfires. None of Warner Bros.’ 2026 films has grossed more than $100 million, and “Supergirl” and “The Bride” both produced big losses for the studio.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/business/media/digger-tom-cruise-box-office.html