The Tom Cruise eco-fable Digger, directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, is heading for a loss of around $245m (£185m), placing it among the biggest financial disasters in movie history, according to a report in Variety.
Digger, the ambitious eco-fable starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, is heading for a loss of around $245m (£185m), according to a report in Variety, placing it among the biggest financial disasters in movie history.
Variety estimates the film's second weekend revenue in North America at $3.2m, a 60% drop on its opening weekend figure of $8m. Its current domestic gross is $14.4m, for a global total of $35.3m, with a projected final box office total of around $50m worldwide.
Production costs are estimated at $160m to $180m, well over the original budget of $125m, with a further $100m spent on marketing. An additional $15m was potentially available for awards-season promotion, but this is likely to be scaled back. Given that cinemas retain around half of ticket revenue, Variety estimates Digger would need to gross around $350m to cover costs. A Warner Bros spokesperson puts the break-even point at $300m.
A loss of $245m would put Digger on a par with such notable failures as Cutthroat Island (a $222m loss adjusted for inflation), Mortal Engines ($224m adjusted) and The Marvels ($205m to $250m adjusted).
Critical reaction has been radically divided. Guardian chief film critic Peter Bradshaw called it "an exasperatingly shallow, laborious, self-congratulatory satire" in a two-star review, while Guardian Australia's deputy culture editor Sian Cain described it as "a masterpiece". Warner Bros, whose post-release advertising campaign quoted negative notices, appears to have had little effect.
The film is Warner Bros' last release before its takeover by David Ellison's Skydance. The studio has had a disappointing 2026, with poorly performing releases including Supergirl and The Bride!, and co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are due to leave ahead of the takeover. This contrasts with a successful 2025 that included A Minecraft Movie, Sinners and F1.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Blockbuster economics mean even a well-funded release can lose hundreds of millions when audiences stay away, and Digger's projected $245m loss is a stark reminder of the stakes in big-budget filmmaking.
- The failure lands as Warner Bros prepares to hand over to David Ellison's Skydance, adding a major financial and reputational setback to a difficult transition year.
- The projected outcome would place Digger alongside the most notorious box office bombs in cinema history, a benchmark likely to shape how studios assess risk on ambitious original productions.
Background
Big-budget films must gross far more than their production cost to turn a profit, because cinemas keep roughly half of ticket revenue and marketing can rival the production budget. In Digger's case, Warner Bros pegs break-even at $300m while Variety estimates the film needs around $350m, against a projected finish of about $50m.
The film is also arriving at a turbulent moment for its studio. Warner Bros has had a disappointing 2026, with Supergirl and The Bride! underperforming, and its co-chairs due to leave as Skydance takes over. The steep drop between the opening and second weekends suggests divided reviews and weak word of mouth did not help draw audiences.
Key Perspectives
Warner Bros and the film's supporters: The studio's spokesperson puts break-even at $300m, lower than Variety's estimate, and some critics regard Digger as a masterpiece. The studio attempted to harness the critical controversy with an advertising campaign quoting negative reviews.
Critics: The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw dismissed the film as a shallow, self-congratulatory satire, and the reporting suggests negative reaction played a key role in the underperformance. Guardian Australia's Sian Cain, by contrast, called it "a masterpiece".
Industry analysts: Variety estimates a total loss of around $245m, with production costs between $160m and $180m plus $100m in marketing, and expects awards-season spending to be cut back.
What to Watch
- Whether the projected final global gross of around $50m materialises and how close the eventual loss lands to the $245m estimate.
- Awards season: whether the $15m earmarked for campaign spending is scaled back or abandoned, signalling how Warner Bros handles the film's prestige ambitions.
- The Skydance takeover: leadership exits and how the incoming owners frame the studio's biggest failure in years.