‘Verity’ leads tepid box office weekend with $33M debut
The highly anticipated merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount is nearing completion, but Warner Bros.' latest attempt at a blockbuster, "Digger," has flopped. The film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, opened at No. 2 in North American theaters, trailing behind Amazon MGM's "Verity," which debuted at the top with $32.6 million.
"Digger" stars Tom Cruise and Dakota Johnson, and was critically panned, with a dismal $8 million domestic gross. Cruise's overseas sales were also weak, at $12 million from 74 markets. The film's production budget is estimated at $150 million, with marketing spending another $100 million. This disappointing debut comes as the two studios finalize their merger, set to be completed on Tuesday.
Warner Bros. co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy are expected to depart, and massive layoffs are anticipated following the merger.
Written by urgent.news from CityNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- On cusp of merger, ‘Digger bombs for Warner Bros., ‘Verity’ takes No. 1 at box office winnipegfreepress.com
- On cusp of merger, ‘Digger bombs for Warner Bros., ‘Verity’ takes No. 1 at box office toronto.citynews.ca
