Despite a highly anticipated return to serious acting by a renowned actor, a two-time Academy Award-winning director, and extensive media coverage comparable to the moon landing, the film “Digger” appears to be heading towards becoming one of the most significant box office failures of the year.
“Variety” reports that the dark comedy, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, experienced a significant budget increase from its initial $125 million US budget to a range of $160-180 million — indicating a break-even point of around $350 million US when factoring in marketing costs (although Warner Bros. contests this, stating their break-even point is closer to $300 million US).
With only $1.2 million US in preview earnings, and forecasts from “The Hollywood Reporter” suggesting domestic weekend earnings of $12-15 million US, “Digger” faces a disappointing opening weekend, adding to Warner Bros.’s challenges in a year marked by underperforming films like “The Bride!”, “Supergirl”, “The End of Oak Street”, and “Practical Magic 2”.
The unconventional narrative of “Digger,” revolving around an oil magnate tasked with rectifying a disaster caused by his drilling activities, always carried inherent risks. Forgoing the traditional festival circuit, the R-rated dark comedy aimed to rely on positive word-of-mouth and the star power of Tom Cruise to draw audiences to theaters.
By strategically avoiding early critical reviews and targeting Cruise’s fan base directly, the film hoped to capitalize on the actor’s first non-franchise project since the 2017 biopic “American Made.”
Directed by Iñárritu, known for his Oscar-winning films “Birdman” and “The Revenant,” “Digger” faced early negative critiques that threatened its success. Critics labeled it as “the worst movie of Tom Cruise’s career,” “a metafictional quagmire,” and “a cumbersome film that may evoke sympathy for its participants.”
Even positive reviews acknowledged the film’s experimental nature, casting doubts on its financial viability. Warner Bros., after a successful 2025 with hits like “Sinners”, “Weapons”, and “One Battle After Another”, has seen a less prosperous 2026, with titles like “Wuthering Heights”, “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy”, and “Evil Dead Burn” achieving moderate success but no film surpassing $100 million US domestically.
The potential failure of “Digger” could align it with other 2026 flops like “Melania” and “Desert Warrior,” underscoring the challenges faced by the film industry this year.
Despite the dim outlook, there is speculation surrounding the film’s impact on Tom Cruise’s awards prospects and its streaming potential due to the actor’s strong brand recognition.
With Paramount’s impending acquisition of Warner Bros., “Digger” marks the final release before the transition, coinciding with reports of significant changes within Warner’s film leadership post-merger, raising questions about the conglomerate’s future artistic decisions.