Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Could Become One of Hollywood’s Biggest Box Office Bombs Ever
Tom Cruise has spent decades as one of the surest bets in movie theaters, so the phrase “box office bomb” rarely gets attached to his name. That is what makes the ‘Digger‘ story so striking. An Oscar-winning director, a global movie star and a big awards push were supposed to add up to something very different.
The film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is a dark satire starring Cruise as Digger Rockwell, an ostentatiously wealthy oil tycoon. His reckless drilling causes a massive ice shelf to detach, and he then scrambles to prove he can save humanity. Critics have been divided, with the film holding a 51% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ CinemaScore from audiences.
Now the financial picture looks even grimmer than anyone expected. According to an exclusive from TheWrap, ‘Digger’ is poised to lose a stunning $250M by the end of its run, even after factoring in post-theatrical revenue. That would make it by far the biggest loss of Cruise’s career and one of the largest for any movie in recent years.
Earlier reports had put the projected loss at about $125M. The number has swelled after the film opened with just $8M domestically and $21M globally. Insiders at Skydance reportedly don’t expect it to clear $40M worldwide.
The costs are what make the math so painful. Multiple insiders put the budget at around $173M, partly because of an unexpected insurance settlement, while another placed it at $163M. On top of that, roughly $100M went to marketing, mostly tied to Cruise’s global press tour.
The project had once been considered a coup. It was reportedly greenlit by David Zaslav himself and was the first film under Cruise’s new deal to make original and franchise movies with Warner Bros. That optimism makes the current outlook sting even more.
The opening weekend set the tone. ‘Digger’ landed in fifth place with $8M in North America, Cruise’s weakest debut since ‘Lions for Lambs’ opened to $6.7M in 2007. Industry watchers said a film of this size needed an opening closer to $40M to justify its price tag, while ‘Verity’ topped the weekend with $32.6M.
If the projection holds, ‘Digger’ would join an infamous club. Dark Horizons compared the potential loss to the kind of damage seen with ‘The Marvels’, ‘John Carter’, ‘Strange World’, ‘The Lone Ranger’ and ‘Mortal Engines’. Variety has also said the film could end up among the biggest bombs of the year, and possibly of all time.
The timing makes it worse for Warner Bros. Variety noted that none of the studio’s 2026 releases has crossed $100M domestically, with ‘Supergirl’ and ‘The Bride’ also disappointing. ‘Digger’ is also the studio’s last release before Warner Bros. Discovery merges with Paramount Skydance.
A man. A plan. A meltdown. DIGGER. Only in theaters October 2. https://t.co/tHOTqXsWIM
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) September 9, 2026
It isn’t all doom for the film’s reputation. ‘Digger’ sits at 3.8 on Letterboxd, ahead of the 3.5 average for the 1986 ‘Top Gun’, and some critics have called it brave and gorgeous. Anne Hathaway also gave it a glowing review on Letterboxd, a rare high-profile cheerleader as the numbers sour.
Cruise himself has stood by the movie, posting that he felt honored to have made it with such talented artists. Many observers had read it as an awards play for an actor who has an honorary Oscar but no competitive acting win. That ambition now sits alongside one of the starkest financial stories of the year.
Cruise’s next big swing is already lined up. ‘Days of Thunder 2’ is set to begin production next year for Paramount, with Hathaway co-starring. It could be a chance to restore his box office reputation.
With Digger reportedly facing a massive loss, how do you think history will judge the film?
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