Verity Opening $35M, Digger Projected $12M – Box Office

The romance adaptation opens in over 3,500 US theatres, while the eco‑satire starring Cruise launches on 3,300 screens with modest expectations.

Variety reports that the Colleen Hoover‑based film ‘Verity’ is slated to roll out across more than 3,500 American cinemas this weekend, with opening‑day earnings pencilled in at $30‑35 million. The figure would hand Anne Hathaway her third number‑one debut of the year, a feat she’s already achieved with two summer blockbusters.

The romance‑drama follows a bestselling author who survives a car crash, leaving her partner to enlist a struggling writer to finish the series. Directed by Michael Showalter, the project carries a $40 million budget and joins a string of modest‑cost Hoover adaptations that have become reliable cash generators for studios.

Across the street, Warner Bros.’ latest offering, the R‑rated environmental satire ‘Digger’, lands on roughly 3,300 screens. Tom Cruise returns as a wealthy oil magnate whose company teeters on the brink of disaster. Production woes have reportedly swollen the film’s budget to somewhere between $160 million and $180 million, though the studio pushes back on those numbers. Industry analysts say a film of that scale would need a debut near $40 million to break even, yet current projections sit at $12‑15 million.

The contrast could not be sharper. While ‘Verity’ rides the wave of recent Hoover adaptations – a genre that has consistently delivered low‑budget, high‑return results – ‘Digger’ arrives at a turbulent moment for Warner Bros. The studio’s slate this year has been a mixed bag, and the pending Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Is set to close next week, adding another layer of uncertainty.

Critics have been harsh on ‘Digger’, with early reviews calling it confusing and unpleasant. In response, Warner Bros. Has launched a cheeky campaign urging audiences to “decide for yourself”. The move signals a willingness to lean into the negative buzz rather than fight it, a strategy that might attract curiosity‑driven viewers but is unlikely to shift the modest earnings outlook.

For Amazon MGM, ‘Verity’ could be a much‑needed boost after the recent flop of ‘Masters of the Universe’, which failed to recoup its $200 million budget. The studio’s earlier hit, ‘Project Hail Mary’, still sits comfortably at $684 million worldwide, showing that the company can swing both blockbuster and mid‑tier successes.

If the numbers hold, Hathaway will join an elite group of actors who have topped the domestic box‑office three times in a single year, a club that includes the likes of Ryan Gosling and Dwayne Johnson. Cruise, meanwhile, may have to settle for a respectable but under‑whelming opening, a stark contrast to his usual box‑office pull.

The weekend will be a litmus test for two very different strategies: a low‑risk, high‑reward literary adaptation versus a high‑budget, high‑concept satire. As the opening weekend ticks down, the industry will be watching to see whether ‘Verity’ can cement Hoover’s cinematic formula, and whether ‘Digger’ can salvage its reputation before the Paramount deal finalises.

What’s next?

Monday’s box‑office tallies will confirm whether ‘Verity’ lives up to its projection.
Warner Bros. Is expected to release a second‑weekend forecast for ‘Digger’ after the first‑day numbers roll in.
The Paramount‑Warner merger is slated to close next week, potentially reshaping the studio’s future release strategy.

Both films will shape the narrative around Hollywood’s current risk appetite, and the numbers this weekend could tip the balance one way or the other.