Digger, the eco-satire starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, is on course for a heavier financial hit than previously forecast, with reports pointing to a loss of about $245m (£185m) — an outcome that would rank it among the costliest flops ever made.
According to a report in Variety, the film’s second weekend in North America took an estimated $3.2m, a 60% fall from its $8m opening weekend. Variety said the title’s domestic gross now stands at $14.4m, with a worldwide total of $35.3m and a projected final global tally of roughly $50m.
Variety estimates place production costs at $160m-180m — above the original $125m budget — alongside a further $100m spent on marketing. About $15m may also have been earmarked for awards-season promotion, though this is expected to be scaled back following the film’s poor performance. Because cinemas keep roughly half of ticket revenue, Variety calculated the film would need to take around $350m to cover its costs. A spokesperson for producing studio Warner Bros put the break-even point at $300m, implying a production spend of $150m.
A $245m loss would put Digger alongside some of the industry’s most notorious failures, including Cutthroat Island ($222m adjusted for inflation), Mortal Engines ($224m adjusted) and The Marvels ($205m-$250m adjusted).
Reaction to the film was sharply divided, which likely played a role in its weak showing. The Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw gave it two stars, describing it as “an exasperatingly shallow, laborious, self-congratulatory satire”, while Guardian Australia’s deputy culture editor Sian Cain took the opposite view, calling it “a masterpiece”. Warner Bros, releasing its final title before its takeover by David Ellison’s Skydance, tried to turn the split in opinion to its advantage with an advertising campaign quoting the negative notices, an effort that appears to have had little impact.
The result extends a difficult 2026 so far for Warner Bros as it prepares for new ownership. Other releases, among them Supergirl and The Bride!, also performed poorly, and co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are due to leave ahead of the takeover. That contrasts with a successful 2025, when releases such as A Minecraft Movie, Sinners and F1 carried the studio to second place, behind Disney.
Separately, Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning opened below expectations, taking an estimated $5.5m in North America and $9m worldwide. The sequel to The Social Network — featuring Jeremy Strong as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Mikey Madison as whistleblower Frances Haugen — was comfortably beaten by Jessica Chastain’s horror The Other Mommy, which led the North American box office with an estimated $27.5m as part of a $45.2m global take.
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