Amazon MGM Studios’ “Verity,” a thriller based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, opened at No. 1 in North American theaters over the weekend with an estimated $32.6 million, while Tom Cruise’s big-budget satire “Digger” took in about $8 million, one of the weakest starts of the star’s career.
“Verity” added $30 million from international markets for a worldwide launch of $62.5 million, according to Variety. The film cost about $40 million to produce, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported, and Variety said the studio is expected to make money on it.
“Digger,” from “Birdman” and “The Revenant” director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, collected $12 million overseas for a global start of roughly $20 million. Its domestic opening was the lowest for Cruise since the 2007 war drama “Lions for Lambs” debuted with $6.7 million, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter reported.
A costly miss for Warner Bros.
Estimates of what “Digger” cost to make vary. The Hollywood Reporter put the production budget at $125 million and said a studio representative disputes reports that the figure climbed closer to $180 million. Variety reported a range of $160 million to $180 million, and The Associated Press cited reports of roughly $150 million. Marketing added an estimated $100 million.
Variety reported the film is on track to lose $150 million to $200 million in theaters. It holds a 51% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a C+.
In the film, Cruise plays an oil executive confronting an ecological catastrophe of his own making. After a wave of harsh reviews, Warner Bros. ran ads inviting moviegoers to judge the film themselves. On Saturday, Cruise said on social media that he remained “so proud of what we created,” The Hollywood Reporter reported.
“For a black comedy, the numbers are not bad. But black comedies are small films, and this isn’t a small film,” David A. Gross, a box office analyst with Franchise Re, told Variety.
The weak start lands at an awkward moment for the studio. A federal judge approved Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery last week, and Paramount has said the deal will close Tuesday. Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who run the Warner Bros. movie studio, are departing with the merger, and none of the studio’s 2026 releases has reached $100 million at the domestic box office, according to the AP and Variety.
Michael Showalter directed “Verity.” Johnson stars as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired to ghostwrite the rest of a popular book series after its author, Verity Crawford, played by Hathaway, is seriously injured in a car accident. Josh Hartnett plays Verity’s husband.
The debut gives Hathaway her third No. 1 opening of 2026, after “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “The Odyssey,” Variety reported. Among Hoover’s screen adaptations, only 2024’s “It Ends With Us,” which opened to $50 million, started stronger. Women made up 78% of the opening-weekend audience, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
“Verity” also drew poor reviews, with a 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes and the same C+ CinemaScore grade as “Digger.” Gross told Variety the reception did not appear to be keeping crowds away.
Among holdovers, Sony’s “Resident Evil” placed second with $12.5 million in its third weekend, and Paramount’s Brad Pitt survival drama “Heart of the Beast” was third with $11 million. A24’s “Primetime,” with Robert Pattinson as TV journalist Chris Hansen, earned about $8 million in a near tie with “Digger.” Disney’s “Avengers Endgame: Encore” re-release added $4.4 million domestically and $14.4 million overseas, lifting the 2019 blockbuster back past “Avatar” as the top-grossing film worldwide.
What’s next
The weekend figures are studio estimates. Final numbers are due Monday and could settle the close race for fourth place; Variety reported that rival studios expect “Digger” to finish closer to $7.5 million. The domestic box office has reached about $7.95 billion this year, a 19% increase over the same stretch of 2025, according to Rentrak data cited by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” and the Jessica Chastain horror film “Other Mommy” open Friday, and Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Three” arrives Dec. 18.
