Tom Cruise's "Digger" Bombs at the Box Office as "Verity" Tops the Weekend

Tom Cruise's latest film, the satire "Digger," opened to just $8 million at the domestic box office this weekend, a steep underperformance for a film reported to have cost at least $150 million to produce. The film's takings fell even further on Monday, dropping 59% as word-of-mouth failed to draw additional audiences heading into the workweek.

Meanwhile, "Verity," a thriller adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name, topped the weekend box office with a $32 million debut, suggesting that mid-budget genre films adapted from popular source material continue to find a reliable audience even as some big-budget original releases struggle to connect with moviegoers.

Industry analysts said "Digger's" poor performance raises fresh questions about audiences' appetite for star-driven original films without existing franchise ties, a pattern that has repeated itself several times this year as sequels, adaptations, and established intellectual property continue to outperform original titles at the box office, regardless of star power attached. Marketing for "Digger" had leaned heavily on Cruise's name recognition, a strategy that has worked for the actor's action franchises but appears to have translated less effectively to a satirical, non-franchise film.

The gap between the two films' performances also highlights a broader divide in how studios are approaching theatrical releases this year, with some doubling down on big-budget star vehicles while others favor book adaptations and pre-existing properties with built-in audiences. "Verity's" strong opening is likely to accelerate interest in adapting other popular novels for the big screen, following a string of successful literary adaptations in recent box office cycles.

For Paramount Skydance, which released "Digger" just as its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery was closing, the film's disappointing debut adds an early wrinkle to the newly combined studio's theatrical slate, even as executives have publicly emphasized confidence in the company's broader production pipeline heading into next year.