A few days ago, the conversation around Tom Cruise and Digger was very different.
After years of blockbuster action roles, Cruise appeared to have finally chosen the kind of movie that could put him in a serious competitive Oscar conversation. He had teamed up with Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu for a dark, ambitious film that was nothing like his usual franchise fare.
Then the box office arrived.
The Digger flop has quickly become one of the biggest Hollywood talking points of the weekend, with the film opening to just $8 million domestically from more than 3,000 locations and about $12 million worldwide. It is now Cruise’s weakest opening weekend since Lions for Lambs in 2007.
For a movie carrying a reported production budget well above $100 million, that is a brutal start.
So what went wrong?
The Movie Was Never An Easy Sell
Digger is not the kind of Tom Cruise movie audiences have been trained to expect.
For years, Cruise has been selling audiences spectacle. Top Gun: Maverick. Mission: Impossible. Death-defying stunts. Giant action sequences. A reason to leave the house and watch something that simply cannot be replicated on a television screen.
Digger went in the opposite direction.
It is a satirical drama directed by Iñárritu, with Cruise playing Digger Rockwell, a powerful oil tycoon caught up in a much darker story involving wealth, politics and environmental consequences.
Tom Cruise’s Name Wasn’t Enough
Tom Cruise is still one of the biggest movie stars in the world, but Digger suggests that his name alone cannot guarantee a theatrical opening when the movie doesn’t look like a traditional Cruise event.
Audiences didn’t necessarily reject Tom Cruise. They may simply have had little urgency to see this Tom Cruise movie. And that is a very different problem.
The film also had to compete with Verity, which had a considerably stronger opening weekend. Suddenly, the movie that seemed like an intriguing prestige gamble became the expensive adult drama struggling to convince people to buy a ticket.
The Iñárritu Factor Didn’t Save It
Iñárritu had previously won Best Director for Birdman and The Revenant, with the latter also earning Leonardo DiCaprio his long-awaited Oscar. That history helped create the expectation that Digger could become something much bigger than another Tom Cruise release.
But a prestigious filmmaker does not automatically create a mainstream hit. In fact, Digger may have landed in an awkward middle ground. It is too unconventional for the audience looking for a typical Cruise blockbuster, while its enormous budget makes it difficult to function like a smaller prestige drama.
FAQs
Why is Digger considered a flop?
Digger had a surprisingly weak opening weekend despite starring Tom Cruise and being directed by Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu. Its reported production and marketing costs also make the disappointing box office more serious.
How much did Digger make on its opening weekend?
Digger opened to around $8 million in the U.S. and Canada and roughly $20 million worldwide, making it Tom Cruise’s weakest domestic opening in nearly two decades.
Why is Digger not doing well at the box office?
One major issue is that Digger is very different from the Tom Cruise movies audiences are accustomed to seeing. It is a dark, unconventional drama rather than a large-scale action spectacle, which may have reduced its mainstream appeal.
How much money could Digger lose?
Reports suggest Digger could lose around $150 million once production and marketing expenses are taken into account if its theatrical run does not improve significantly.
Is Digger Tom Cruise’s biggest box office flop?
It is being described as his biggest opening-weekend disappointment in almost 20 years, although its eventual financial loss will depend on how the movie performs in the coming weeks and how much revenue it generates from international markets and later releases.
Who directed Digger?
Digger was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the filmmaker behind Birdman and The Revenant. His involvement helped give the movie significant prestige before its theatrical release.
Was Tom Cruise expected to get an Oscar nomination for Digger?
Cruise’s dramatic performance in Digger had generated Oscar-season interest, particularly because the film represented a major departure from his usual action roles. However, the movie’s weak box-office performance has shifted much of the conversation toward its commercial failure.
The $150 Million Problem
The box office disappointment becomes even more serious when the reported financial exposure is considered. With production costs well above $100 million and a substantial marketing campaign, the film could potentially lose around $150 million. That is no longer just a disappointing opening. It is a serious commercial problem.
And the timing makes it even more uncomfortable for Warner Bros., which is already dealing with major changes surrounding the company’s future.
So while Cruise may have wanted Digger to prove that he could step away from blockbuster spectacle and deliver a major dramatic performance, the movie now has a much more immediate problem.
How did a Tom Cruise movie with an Oscar-winning director behind it become such a box-office disappointment?
