Despite a notable actor’s return to serious acting, a two-time Academy Award-winning director and substantial media attention, the film “Digger” appears to be heading towards becoming one of the most significant box office failures of the year.
As reported by Variety, the dark comedy directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise experienced a budget increase from the initial $125 million to a range of $160-180 million, necessitating a box office performance of approximately $350 million to break even when factoring in marketing expenses. Warner Bros. disputed this, stating their break-even point is closer to $300 million.
The film garnered only $1.2 million in previews and is expected by Warner to only earn between $12-15 million domestically during its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This underwhelming performance adds to Warner Bros.’s challenges in a year marked by several disappointments, including “The Bride!,” “Supergirl,” “The End of Oak Street,” and “Practical Magic 2.”
“Digger,” a peculiar tale about an oil magnate tasked with rectifying a disaster caused by his drilling activities, was always a risky venture. Opting out of the festival circuit, the R-rated black comedy relied on positive word-of-mouth and star power to draw audiences to theaters.
The decision to bypass early critical reviews and target Cruise enthusiasts made some sense as it marked the actor’s first non-franchise film since 2017’s “American Made.”
Directed by Iñárritu, known for his Oscar-winning films “Birdman” and “The Revenant,” early negative reviews threatened to overshadow the film’s potential success. Criticisms labeling it as “the worst movie of Tom Cruise’s career” by the Boston Globe, “a metafictional morass” by RogerEbert.com, and “a lumbering white elephant” by The New York Times further compounded its challenges.
While some critics praised the film’s boldness, many anticipated “Digger” to be too unconventional to recoup its budget. This setback places Warner Bros. in a precarious position after a lackluster 2026 slate following their successful 2025 run.
The film’s potential failure could align it with other 2026 box office disappointments like “Melania” and “Desert Warrior.” Despite its projected poor performance, there remains speculation on Cruise’s awards prospects and the film’s potential success in streaming markets.
“Digger’s” underperformance coincides with Warner Bros.’s impending acquisition by Paramount and the reported departure of key film executives, indicating potential shifts in the conglomerate’s future artistic choices.