‘Digger’ sinks with an $8 M opening while ‘Verity’ surfs to a $32 M debut

Tom Cruise’s oil‑tycoon satire “Digger” opened at the box office with a modest $8 million, while Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s satire “Verity” pulled in a robust $32 million debut.

The $8 million haul left “Digger” digging a financial crater that could barely fit a single popcorn kernel, a stark contrast to “Verity’s” $32 million wave that left vendors dreaming of charitable donations.

Fans who expected a blockbuster oil‑rig showdown instead got a tidy pile of receipts, prompting jokes that the only thing “Digger” was really digging for was a budget‑cutting memo.

Analysts point to the film’s heavy corporate‑greed plot and the weight of Cruise’s star power as possible reasons for the shortfall, while “Verity’s” sharp script and timely satire clearly resonated with audiences.

Warner Bros., which had high hopes for “Digger,” may now need to revisit its marketing playbook as the weekend’s numbers underline how a few million dollars can separate a flop from a hit.