Warner Bros. Bets $275 Million on Tom Cruise and a Hole in the Ground, Loses Most of It
Digger opened to $8 million domestic against a $160 million budget, and Tom Cruise's name wasn't enough to dig it out.
Warner Bros. spent roughly $275 million getting Alejandro Iñárritu's "Digger" in front of audiences, between a $160 million production budget and nearly $100 million in worldwide marketing. The film opened October 4 to $8 million domestically and $20 million globally, among the worst wide-release debuts of Tom Cruise's career and the kind of number that makes "biggest box office bomb of the year" a real headline instead of internet hyperbole.
Audiences handed it a C+ CinemaScore, critics landed it at 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and neither number points to a word-of-mouth rescue in week two. Analysts estimate the studio is staring down roughly $150 million in losses once marketing and distribution costs are fully accounted for, a gap a strong overseas run would struggle to close on its own.
It's a reminder that star power and auteur credibility don't automatically add up to an opening weekend. Cruise is one of the last true box-office draws left, and Iñárritu carries an Oscar pedigree most directors would kill for, but two recognizable names weren't enough to sell audiences on the premise itself. The marketing budget bought awareness; it couldn't buy a reason to show up.
Source: ComingSoon.net
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
