Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ flops, faces US$245m loss after two weeks in cinemas

LOS ANGELES, October 13 — The Tom Cruise eco-satire film Digger, intended to reestablish the action hero's return to serious acting, has flopped at the box office, with industry experts anticipating it could incur a loss of approximately US$245 million. Directed by Alejandro Inarritu, the comedy features Cruise in the role of an eccentric oil baron tasked with rectifying the harm he has caused.

Despite positive buzz from critics and featuring Cruise's star power, the film garnered lukewarm reception from audiences, leaving Warner Bros with a significant financial deficit just as a merger with Paramount Skydance is concluded. After two weeks in cinemas, the movie has earned a mere US$14.4 million in North America and US$35.3 million globally, figures that represent a substantial loss for a film with a big-budget.

Christopher Rosen of The Ankler, a Hollywood trade publication, stated that the film's financial performance can be classified as a disaster, considering the production cost of US$160 million to US$180 million, before accounting for marketing expenses. Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro noted that the film's greenlighting took place under the previous Warner Bros executives, Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, who were known for investing in original, innovative films.

However, Digger, being an art-house movie that satirizes American culture through the perspective of a non-American director, was likely destined to face challenges. The film's marketing cost could reach up to US$100 million. Loria opined that the film was never tailored to appeal to a general audience, as it often pushes the audience towards uncomfortable territory.

American viewers have traditionally struggled with accepting films that criticize their culture, particularly when created by foreign directors. The presence of Cruise, often attributed to revitalizing the box office post-pandemic with Top Gun: Maverick, was bound to draw attention to the film. "You've got arguably the biggest movie star in the world who was literally everywhere for this movie," remarked Paul Dergarabedian, a market analyst at Rentrak.

However, the disparity between Digger's box office performance and Cruise's star power is striking. The film's box office figures are consistent with the type of movie Inarritu typically produces, which are more focused on artistic expression rather than box office success. Loria concluded that the film was marketed as a mainstream movie, whereas it fundamentally represents an art-house film, resulting in a mismatch between expectations and actual performance.