Tom Cruise's 'Digger' Flops at Box Office Ahead of Warner Bros. Merger

The film "Digger," starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is shaping up to be a significant failure for Warner Bros. just before its anticipated merger with Paramount. Released in over 3,000 U.S. theaters, the movie grossed an estimated $8 million over the weekend. This performance is particularly disappointing given the studio's reported production costs of $125 million and an additional $100 million allocated for marketing. According to The New York Times, Warner Bros. could face losses between $125 million and $150 million on the film.

"Digger" follows two other Warner Bros. releases this year, "Supergirl" and "The Containment," which also resulted in losses. Notably, no Warner Bros. film released this year has surpassed $100 million in domestic box office revenue. This contrasts sharply with the previous year's success, which included hits like "Sinners," "The Vanishing Hour," and the Oscar-winning "Battle of Battles."

"Digger" is the last film to be released by Warner Bros. as an independent studio before the planned merger with Paramount. Film consultant David Gross commented, "It was an eccentric story and Warner Bros. deserves credit for taking the risk. But Digger isn't working, and Paramount, led by David Ellison, Josh Greenstein, and Danna Goldberg, will have to decide soon what kinds of films they want Warner to produce."

The acquisition deal is expected to be finalized on Tuesday. Ellison has already revealed the new name for the combined company: Skydance. "Together we are Skydance, a creative home for bold, quality stories," he stated. The merger will consolidate not only film studios but also streaming services HBO Max and Paramount Plus, along with television networks CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, and the Food Network. Last week, it was reported that Israeli Yinnon Kreiz will be appointed CEO of the merged entity.

The highest-grossing film of the weekend was "Illusion," an adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, which earned $33 million in U.S. theaters.