The Alejandro G. Iñárritu movie Digger stands as one of the biggest risks Tom Cruise has ever taken as a movie star, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to pay off for Warner Bros. Preliminary box office reporting shows that the movie has made $8 million in its opening weekend (though that number could come in closer to $7.5 million by the time the final numbers come in on Monday), according to Variety. It didn’t fare much better overseas, adding just $12 million for a worldwide opening of $20 million.
With a reported production budget of between $160 million and $180 million, Digger is shaping up to be not only one of the biggest flops of Tom Cruise’s career, but also one of the biggest box office bombs in recent Hollywood history.
Box Office Performance
Tom Cruise’s track record at the box office has typically been quite sunny — even poorly reviewed movies he’s starred in tend to perform decently opening weekend. 2017’s The Mummy, despite a 15% Rotten Tomatoes score, earned $31,668,375 in its first days of release. Knight and Day received slightly better reviews (receiving a 51% on RT) and managed $20,139,985 during its 2010 opening weekend.
Since the 1990s (when Tom Cruise fully blossomed into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars), the only time a movie starring Tom Cruise has opened to less than $10 million was 2007’s Lions for Lambs, which also starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. 1999’s Magnolia made $5,700,000 during its first weekend in wide release, but Tom Cruise was only one member of an ensemble cast in that movie. Same deal with 2014’s Rock of Ages, which earned $14,437,269 in its debut.
That said, all of the movies mentioned in the previous paragraph had budgets of less than $100 million, with Rock of Ages, the most expensive of the bunch, costing $70 million. Digger, meanwhile, reportedly cost between $160 million and $180 million. While The Mummy carried an even higher budget of around $195 million, it ultimately grossed $409,953,905 worldwide, a figure Digger seems unlikely to approach. A Warner Bros. spokesperson told Variety that Digger needs to gross $300 million to break even.
Movie Synopsis
In Digger, according to the official synopsis, “the most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s saviour before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.” Tom Cruise stars alongside John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons. For more, read our review.
In conclusion, the poor box office performance of Digger is a significant setback for Tom Cruise and Warner Bros., and it remains to be seen how the movie will perform in the coming weeks. With its high production budget and low opening weekend earnings, Digger is shaping up to be one of the biggest box office bombs of the year.
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