Tom Cruise has pulled off some of Hollywood's most spectacular screen escapes, but his latest movie faces a financial predicament that even his star power could not prevent. Digger, the expensive political satire directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, opened to an estimated $8 million in North America-a startling debut for a production reportedly costing about $125 million. The Wall Street Journal reports that it marks Cruise's weakest opening since Lions for Lambs in 2007, without adjusting for inflation.
The weekend belonged instead to Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson. Their Colleen Hoover adaptation, Verity, claimed first place with an estimated $32.6 million in North American ticket sales, earning more than four times Digger's opening haul. The thriller also outgrossed the combined weekend earnings of its two nearest competitors, Resident Evil and Heart of the Beast, according to Barron's.
For Cruise, the overseas numbers offered little immediate relief. Digger collected approximately $12 million internationally across 74 markets, bringing its worldwide opening to about $20 million. The Associated Press also reported a C+ CinemaScore, suggesting that opening audiences were hardly delivering the enthusiastic response needed to help an expensive original film build momentum.
The domestic chart made the disappointment even sharper: Digger landed in fifth place. Resident Evil took second with $12.5 million, followed by Brad Pitt's Heart of the Beast with $11 million, while Primetime narrowly placed ahead of Cruise's film despite both reporting rounded totals of $8 million. A new Tom Cruise release had arrived behind three returning titles.
Meanwhile, Verity gave Hollywood another demonstration of Hoover's commercial appeal. Its opening surpassed those of Regretting You and Reminders of Him, although it remained below the $50 million debut of It Ends With Us. The result gives Hathaway and Johnson a decisive weekend victory while extending the author's track record of drawing readers into theaters.
The figures remain Sunday estimates, with final domestic totals expected Monday. They establish an opening-weekend setback rather than a final lifetime result, but the immediate challenge is substantial: Digger needs a dramatic improvement in attendance to overcome this start. For now, the weekend's most striking Hollywood reversal is clear-Cruise's costly gamble has stumbled, while Verity has taken command of the box office.
