Tom Cruise’s latest film, ‘Digger,’ opened to just $8 million at the North American box office, marking the actor’s lowest domestic debut in 19 years. The film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, finished fifth in its opening weekend behind titles including ‘Verity,’ which led with $32.6 million.
Warner Bros. released ‘Digger’ on Friday in 3,300 North American theaters. The studio viewed the project as a major creative swing with awards potential, but its path has proven challenging. The film earned a C+ CinemaScore from audiences and holds a 51 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critical Reception Divided
Reviews for ‘Digger’ have been sharply split. Some critics praised Cruise’s commitment to the role, while others found his performance excessive. The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic David Rooney dismissed the film as ‘dead and buried.’
In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Rooney wrote that ‘Digger’ is ‘basically what happens when you put two outsize egos together with nobody holding the reins to keep their most self-indulgent impulses in check.’ He described Cruise’s performance as ‘spectacularly obnoxious.’
Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman was also critical. He described the film as ‘so full of itself’ and wrote that it is ‘a torturous experience’ that fails to be funny despite its comedic ambitions.
Not all reviews were negative. Deadline’s Pete Hammond called it a ‘surprising and urgent disaster movie satire.’ The San Francisco Chronicle gave it a five-star review, and The Telegraph awarded four stars. Empire, however, gave it two out of five stars, writing that ‘for a film about the complexity of mankind, it shows scant interest in actual people.’
Box Office Performance
The $8 million domestic opening is the worst for Cruise since 2007’s war drama ‘Lions for Lambs,’ which debuted with $6.7 million from a far smaller budget. Internationally, ‘Digger’ earned $12 million from 74 markets, bringing its global opening weekend total to $20 million.
The film was initially approved with a reported budget of $125 million. However, according to four knowledgeable sources cited by Variety, production costs climbed to between $160 million and $180 million after the film went over schedule. Warner Bros. disputed the higher figures. The studio also disputed estimates that put the film’s global theatrical break-even point at roughly $350 million, saying it is closer to $300 million.
The weak opening puts significant pressure on the Warner Bros. release. An opening weekend alone does not establish a film’s eventual losses, but the gap between the opening receipts and the production cost is substantial. The result also comes at a significant corporate moment for Warner Bros., as Paramount Skydance’s merger with the studio is expected to be finalized on October 6.
Cast and Production Details
In ‘Digger,’ Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a powerful oil tycoon whose arrogance and greed trigger a global catastrophe. The character is then tasked by the president, played by John Goodman, with ‘digging us out’ of the mess he created. The role required Cruise to wear extensive prosthetic makeup and a deliberately larger-than-life presentation.
The film also stars Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Iñárritu shot the film in the United Kingdom in late 2024 through early 2025, working again with his multi-Oscar-winning director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki in 35mm VistaVision.
‘Digger’ marks Cruise’s first movie with Iñárritu and his first original film since 2017’s ‘American Made.’ The project sees Cruise taking a break from the action-loaded franchise features that his audience has come to expect, harkening back to his earlier-career focus on filmmaker-forward projects like ‘Rain Man,’ ‘Born on the Fourth of July,’ and ‘Magnolia.’
Cruise Responds to Box Office
Cruise took to social media on Saturday morning to share behind-the-scenes photos from the film’s shoot and express his appreciation to the cast and crew. ‘Digger is officially in theaters and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists,’ Cruise posted on X. ‘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.’
During an onstage conversation earlier in the week following a Los Angeles screening of ‘Digger,’ Cruise discussed his approach to the role and his collaboration with Iñárritu. The star won’t wait too long to get back to IP-driven action fare, as ‘Days of Thunder 2’ soon revs up production.
Guillermo del Toro Defends the Film
Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro defended ‘Digger’ amid the backlash. Del Toro took to social media to respond to criticism of the R-rated black comedy. ‘Entirely Petty headline,’ the director wrote in response to a review of the Warner Bros. film.
Del Toro said the headline, which indicated, ‘The theater experience won’t change your mind on Digger, and the laughs that are there still will be when it hits HBO Max,’ was ‘petty’ whether one loves the film or not. ‘And, yes, I do,’ he clarified. ‘The film delivers in scale, ambition and reach at a theatrical screen level.’
The ‘Shape of Water’ and ‘Frankenstein’ director went on to call it ‘daring, bold and Cinematically complex,’ and said it is ‘decidedly a Theatrical experience.’ Iñárritu, del Toro, and ‘Gravity’ helmer Alfonso Cuarón are close friends. Cuarón also appeared to defend Iñárritu on social media amid the ‘Digger’ backlash, as he shared over the weekend a series of screenshots comparing negative reviews of past films like ‘Under the Skin,’ ‘Night of the Hunter,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ to contemporary re-assessments.
‘Digger’ opened in theaters and IMAX on October 2, 2026. The film is set to be the last release by Warner Bros. before its merger with Paramount Skydance.