Verity Opens to $62M WW; Digger Flops at $20M — SkimNews
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- Verity opened to $62.1M worldwide ($32.6M domestic), the second-best global debut for a Colleen Hoover adaptation behind 2024's It Ends With Us ($95.6M WW), against a $40M net production cost.
- Digger, Alejandro G. Iñárritu's $160M net-cost Tom Cruise political satire, debuted to just $20M globally ($12M international, $8M domestic), with the article projecting a ~$150M loss.
- Verity drew audiences well beyond its female skew — while 78% of its U.S. audience was female, it topped charts in 'macho' markets including Norway ($400K), Turkey, and Ukraine ($370K from 235 screens, the biggest Hoover adaptation opening there).
- The Heart of the Beast (Paramount) held second globally with $32.3M in its second weekend ($10.8M domestic), pushing its running cume to $98.7M.
- Resident Evil (Sony/Constantin) added $29.2M WW in its third frame for a global running cume of $245.5M, while Avengers Endgame: Encore reclaimed its status as the highest-grossing movie ever at $2.9255B with an $18.8M second-weekend.
- China's local champ Traces of Justice (directed by Chen Sachet) took third globally with $31.2M for the weekend and a $41.8M cume since October 1, as Golden Week kicked off with no U.S. theatricals in China's top 5.
Why it matters: For Amazon MGM, the $40M-net Verity grossed $62.1M in its opening — a profitable start for female-skewing literary adaptations. For Paramount and partners, the $160M Digger faces a ~$150M projected loss on just $20M global, a rare case where a star-driven political satire's audience mismatch costs far more than a mid-budget adaptation earns.
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