Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Now Stands to Lose $245 Million After Dropping 60% in Second Weekend — SkimNews
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- "Digger" is tracking a $245 million theatrical loss after second-weekend sales dropped 60%, bringing the global tally to $35.3 million — well below the $350 million break-even point the studio has cited (it had earlier said $300 million).
- Warner Bros. greenlit the film at $125 million, but the budget swelled to $160–180 million after production overruns; the studio spent another ~$100 million on global marketing, and the ~$15 million Oscar campaign may now be scaled back.
- Tom Cruise's revenue-sharing deal pays him a percentage of revenues before the studio recoups any costs, which the source says will push back Warner Bros.' break-even point even after the box office run ends.
- The film opened to just $8 million domestic / $20 million global despite public endorsements from Anne Hathaway, Jane Fonda, Guillermo del Toro and Mandy Patinkin urging audiences to see it in theaters.
- Warner Bros. co-chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy departed the studio last Friday — the same day "Digger" opened — capping a year in which no studio release has crossed $100 million domestically after 2025 hits like "Sinners," "Weapons" and "A Minecraft Movie."
- "Digger" is the studio's last standalone release before its pending merger with Paramount, which the source frames as the next chance to rebound via December's "Dune: Part III."
Why it matters: A $245 million write-down lands on Warner Bros. on the same day co-chiefs De Luca and Abdy exit and just before its Paramount merger closes — meaning shareholders absorb the loss on the studio's final standalone release before it ceases to exist in its current form. Cruise's first-dollar revenue deal means the studio recoups last, extending the financial damage past theaters and into the TV/streaming windows.
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