Overview
- The film opened wide on Oct. 2 and posted about $8 million in North America and roughly $20 million worldwide over its opening weekend, figures reported across industry outlets.
- Industry postmortems put Digger’s production costs between roughly $125 million and $180 million with about $100 million in global marketing, producing a $300M–$350M break‑even target and projected theatrical losses of $150M–$200M.
- Critical and audience response was split, with the film sitting around 51% on Rotten Tomatoes and earning a C+ CinemaScore, and negative word‑of‑mouth cited as a key driver of the weak box office.
- Tom Cruise publicly defended the movie after the opening, while analysts note the audience skew—about 60% age 18–34 and more than 70% male—limited mainstream demand for an R‑rated, unconventional satire.
- The film’s failure comes as Warner Bros. prepares to merge with Paramount/Skydance and could tighten studio appetite for expensive original auteur projects, though ancillary windows like PVOD and streaming may trim losses over time.