"Digger" — an ambitious eco-parable starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu — is heading toward even worse financial results than previously expected. According to available data, the film could suffer losses of around $245 million, which would make it one of the biggest flops in cinema history, reports UNN, citing The Guardian.
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According to a report by Variety, the projected North American box office for "Digger" during its second weekend is $3.2 million, down 60% from its opening-weekend figure ($8 million). As a result, its current domestic gross has reached $14.4 million, while its worldwide gross stands at $35.3 million; the final worldwide theatrical result is forecast to be around $50 million.
Although the exact figures have not been disclosed, Variety estimates the production costs of "Digger" at between $160 million and $180 million (significantly higher than the initial budget of $125 million), with another $100 million spent on marketing. An additional $15 million was potentially planned for a promotional campaign during awards season, but those costs are likely to be cut because of the film’s failure. Given that cinemas keep around half of ticket-sale revenue, Variety calculates that the film would have needed to gross approximately $350 million to cover its costs. (A representative of the producing studio Warner Bros. claims that the break-even point is $300 million, implying production costs of $150 million.)
Losses of $245 million would place "Digger" alongside such legendary cinematic fiascos as "Cutthroat Island" (losses of $222 million adjusted for inflation), "Mortal Engines" ($224 million), and "The Marvels" ($205–250 million).
The reaction to the film likely played a key role in its poor performance, as critics’ opinions were sharply divided. The Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw, in his two-star review, called the film "an irritatingly shallow, ponderous satire that admires itself far too much," while Sian Cain, deputy editor of Guardian Australia’s culture section, took the opposite view, calling the film a "masterpiece." Warner Bros. — for which this release was the last before the studio came under the control of David Ellison’s Skydance — tried to capitalize on the controversy by launching an advertising campaign quoting negative reviews after the premiere, but this appears not to have had a significant effect.
So far, 2026 has been an unsuccessful year for Warner Bros. as it prepares for a change of ownership: releases such as "Supergirl" and "The Bride!" have posted weak results, while the studio’s co-chairs, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, are set to leave their positions before the deal is completed. This sharply contrasts with the successful 2025, when films such as "A Minecraft Movie," "Sinners," and "F1" propelled the studio to second place at the box office, immediately behind Disney.
Meanwhile, Aaron Sorkin’s film "The Social Reckoning" also fell short of expectations during its opening weekend, taking in approximately $5.5 million in North America and $9 million worldwide. The sequel to "The Social Network," in which Jeremy Strong played Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Mikey Madison portrayed whistleblower Frances Haugen, was significantly outperformed by Jessica Chastain’s horror film "The Other Mommy." The latter topped the North American box office with approximately $27.5 million (its worldwide gross totaled $45.2 million).