Tom Cruise’s latest film Digger is facing a disappointing opening weekend at the box office, with the thriller Verity emerging as the stronger performer after its October 2 release.
Digger earned $3.3 million on Friday, including revenue from Thursday night previews. The film is now projected to finish its opening weekend with around $8 million.
The result is significantly below expectations for the studio, particularly given the movie’s reported production budget of approximately $125 million.
Digger faces one of Cruise’s weakest openings
The slow start could mark one of the weakest theatrical openings of Cruise’s career in nearly two decades.
His 2007 film Lions for Lambs opened to $6.7 million domestically, making it a previous low point for the actor’s recent box office performances.
Digger has also received a mixed response from both audiences and critics. The film currently carries a C+ CinemaScore, while its Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score stands at 51%.
Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil businessman whose actions trigger a massive natural disaster.
Tom Cruise’s ‘surprising’ reason for befriending Taylor Swift revealed
Verity delivers stronger debut
While Digger struggles to gain momentum, Verity has made a considerably stronger start.
The thriller, starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, earned $15.1 million on Friday, including Thursday preview screenings.
The film is projected to collect around $33.6 million during its opening weekend, putting it comfortably ahead of Digger.
Verity arrived in cinemas on October 2 and has quickly established itself as the leading title at the weekend box office.
The contrasting performances put added pressure on Digger to maintain momentum in the coming weeks, particularly given its high production cost and the mixed response from audiences and critics.
