Bookish thriller ‘Verity’ cleans up at US box office, Tom Cruise sinks with ‘Digger’

Los Angeles, Oct 5 — The bookish thriller Verity soared to the top of its North American box office debut this weekend, pulling in an impressive US$32.6 million in its opening weekend according to industry monitor Exhibitor Relations. Adapted from Colleen Hoover's novel, Verity follows a struggling writer taking on the task of completing a famous author's unfinished manuscript.

Despite receiving mixed reviews and audience ratings, veteran industry watcher David A. Gross of FranchiseRe Movies noted, "The weekend figure is well above average for the genre, in spite of weak reviews and audience ratings. The reception is not hurting the film — audiences are showing up in big numbers." Securing second place was Sony's Resident Evil, grossing US$12.5 million this weekend and amassing a total of US$125 million after three weeks in theaters.

Followed closely in third place was Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt and his loyal combat dog, which earned an estimated US$11 million in its second weekend. In fourth place, Digger, a black comedy featuring Tom Cruise, debuted with a US$8 million haul. Gross remarked, "For a black comedy, the numbers are not bad, but black comedies are small films and this isn't a small film, it's a Tom Cruise movie."

Rounding out the top five was Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson as reality TV host Chris Hansen, which also brought in US$8 million in its opening weekend. Based on the real-life US show To Catch a Predator, the film is set to continue its run in the top five.