Warner Bros. closes out its 103-year run as a standalone studio the same weekend Tom Cruise's $160 million satire posts his worst opening since 2007, with losses that could reach $200 million.
Tom Cruise posted a thank-you note to cast and crew on Saturday. The box office numbers tell a rougher story.
Digger, the Alejandro González Iñárritu-directed satire that casts Cruise as an oil tycoon bracing for ecological catastrophe, opened domestically to an estimated $8 million from 3,321 theatres, according to Just Jared. Variety reported that rival studios expect the final domestic tally to land even lower, closer to $7.5 million. Add in $12 million from 73 international markets and the global opening comes to just $20 million, per TheWrap.
That's not a soft start. That's a studio's worst nightmare landing in the same week Warner Bros. Officially folds into Paramount Skydance, ending a run that stretches back 103 years.
The budget figures themselves are a moving target. TheWrap puts production costs at a minimum of $125 million, with some reports going as high as $160 million. Just Jared cites a range of $160 million to $180 million. Either way, Warner Bros. Reportedly spent another $100 million marketing the film on top of that.
Break-even math nobody agrees on
Sources familiar with comparable releases told Just Jared that Digger would need roughly $350 million worldwide just to break even. A Warner Bros. Spokesperson pushed back on that number, placing break-even closer to $300 million. Nobody's disputing the downside: estimates now put theatrical losses somewhere between $150 million and $200 million, numbers that would make this one of the biggest bombs of the year regardless of which figure you trust.
Warner Bros. Had reportedly hoped for an $18 million to $20 million domestic opening. Industry observers had already warned that a movie carrying this price tag needed something closer to $40 million just to look respectable. It got less than half that.
For Cruise, the result is personal too. TheWrap notes it's his weakest opening since 2007's Lions for Lambs, nearly two decades back, and a jarring turn for an actor some awards watchers had floated as a possible Oscar contender this season. Cruise's own statement didn't touch the numbers. "I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists," he wrote, calling the experience "truly unforgettable."
The reviews explain some of the resistance. Rotten Tomatoes has Digger at 51 percent with critics against a warmer 70 percent from audiences, a split that reads like the makings of a cult favourite rather than a crowd-pleaser. CinemaScore gave it a C+, PostTrak a soft 47 percent definite recommend.
Contrast that with the weekend's other wide release. Amazon MGM's Verity, a Colleen Hoover adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, opened to $32.6 million against a $40 million budget, per TheWrap, putting it on track to clear profit even with its own C+ CinemaScore.
What happens to Digger overseas in the coming weeks will decide how deep the losses actually run, and whether Warner Bros.' final theatrical release as an independent studio becomes a footnote or a cautionary tale.
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