Tom Cruise’s Digger struggles at box office

“Digger,” Warner Bros.’ costly original film directed by five-time Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, has opened with just $8 million at the box office.

The result marks Tom Cruise’s worst opening since 2007, when “Lions for Lambs” debuted with $7 million, CE Report quotes ANSA.

The “Top Gun” and “Mission: Impossible” star plays Digger Rockwell, a powerful oil billionaire preparing to confront an ecological catastrophe of epic proportions.

A dark comedy filled with extensive dialogue and monologues, “Digger” initially received a $125 million budget from Warner Bros., but production costs reportedly climbed to between $160 million and $180 million as filming continued.

Around $100 million was also spent on a major promotional campaign. According to Variety, “Digger” would need to gross approximately $350 million worldwide to break even.

Its global opening, however, reached just $20 million.

The most-watched film in cinemas across the United States and Canada this weekend was “Verity,” an adaptation of a bestseller by Colleen Hoover, whose romance novels have become publishing sensations.

“Verity” earned $33 million in North America and another $30 million in international markets.

It marks the second-best opening for a film adaptation of Hoover’s work, following adaptations including “It Ends With Us” and “Regretting You.”

Directed by Michael Showalter and starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, “Verity” was made on a $40 million budget.

Zach Cregger’s survival horror film “Resident Evil” remained in second place, earning $13 million in its third weekend. The film has now grossed $125 million in the United States and $215 million worldwide against a $75 million budget.

Brad Pitt’s “Heart of the Beast” took third place. The Paramount thriller, which follows Pitt’s character as he fights to survive in the wilderness alongside his dog, earned $11 million in its second weekend and is approaching $100 million worldwide.

In fourth place was A24 psychological drama “Primetime,” starring Robert Pattinson as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen. The film earned $8 million in its second weekend, bringing its North American total to $34 million.

“Digger” followed in fifth place.

Photo: Instagram/tomcruise