In brief
Hollywood analysts predict Tom Cruise’s satire "Digger" may lose around $245m, making it one of the biggest theatrical flops in history. Ticket sales dropped 60% in the second weekend, with global takings now about $35m. Warner Bros estimated a $300m break‑even point, far above the film’s earnings. The movie, which stars Cruise as an oil magnate, follows director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s previous successes, but critics and audiences have largely ignored it. The poor performance contrasts sharply with Cruise’s recent franchise hits, underscoring a sharp decline in this high‑profile project.
The $280m‑budget satire, starring Tom Cruise as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, has already lost an estimated $245m, putting it close to becoming Hollywood’s biggest flop.
Ticket sales fell 60% in the film’s second weekend, bringing global earnings to just $35m worldwide.
Warner Bros estimates the film would need about $300m to break even, thanks to high production and marketing costs as well as theater cuts and potential award campaign spending.
Despite this, Cruise has said he’s not focused on opening‑weekend numbers, instead prioritising films that "continue and evolve". Critics, however, largely dismissed the movie, prompting Warner Bros to launch a new marketing push urging audiences to judge it for themselves.
“The cinematic world can be brutal,” said a Warner representative. “We’re encouraging viewers to decide for themselves.”
The flop beats significant recent successes featuring Cruise, such as the "Top Gun" and "Mission : Impossible" franchises, and puts Digger in the same bracket as historic failures like 1995’s "Cutthroat Island" and 2012’s "John Carter”.
Meanwhile, Aaron Sorkin’s new film "The Social Reckoning" also struggled, opening to $5.5m in the U.S. and $9m worldwide, far below the 2010 hit "The Social Network".
For more on Warner Bros’s recent merger with Paramount, see the side‑by‑side logo composite above.
