Tom Cruise's 'Digger' Flops, Could Lose Warner Bros. $150 Million

Key Points:

• Tom Cruise attended the Los Angeles premiere of “Digger,” a Warner Bros. film that was critically panned and projected to underperform at the box office due to its dark and unusual content.
• “Digger” opened to a disappointing $8 million domestically and $20 million globally, significantly underperforming against its $125-$180 million production budget and a breakeven target of around $300-$350 million.
• The film is considered one of the biggest flops of Cruise’s career, with potential losses exceeding $150 million, and was overshadowed by other releases like “Verity” and holdovers such as “Resident Evil.”
• Warner Bros. executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, known for supporting auteur-driven projects, are exiting the studio as new owner David Ellison plans to shift focus toward more commercially viable franchises, signaling a move away from risky, artistic films like “Digger.”
• Despite the film’s failure, Cruise expressed optimism about the Warner Bros.-Paramount merger under Ellison, emphasizing a collaborative studio environment aiming to produce a prolific slate of movies, though industry insiders remain skeptical about balancing artistic ambition with financial success.