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Warner Bros.' Digger opens to $20 million worldwide on up to $250 million in spending

Warner Bros.' Digger opened to $20 million worldwide against up to $250 million in production and marketing spend. It lands days before Paramount Skydance takes control of the studio, whose new owners will decide what kind of films Warner makes next.

The Investor · Invest desk

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What happened

  • The opening split into $8 million in North America and $12 million from 74 international markets.
  • U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved the $110 billion Paramount Skydance deal for Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday, and Paramount said it would close on Tuesday.
  • Reviews were bad enough that Warner ran 'decide for yourself' ads, and opening estimates had been cut over the prior week.
  • Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, the film group co-chairs who backed Digger, are expected to leave this week, with mass layoffs anticipated to follow.
  • Warner has not had a film reach $100 million domestically this year, a mark its December release Dune: Part III is expected to pass easily.

Why it matters

  • Who's exposed exposure From Tuesday, Digger's remaining run and its losses sit with Paramount Skydance's owners, on a film greenlit by executives who are on their way out.
  • Who has to decide decision The first slate question for Ellison, Greenstein and Goldberg is whether Warner keeps paying for original films from star directors at all, and Digger is the newest evidence on the table.
  • What it sets up precedent If Paramount carries its own habits into Warner, as Gross expects, a $150 million original pitch becomes harder to get approved at the combined studio.

The overseas figure is the weaker half of the opening. Cruise is typically a big draw abroad, Fortune reported [18], yet $12 million across 74 markets comes to about $162,000 a market [13]. Even at that rate, international sales supplied 60% of the worldwide total [14].

Fortune put the production cost at a minimum of $125 million, with other reports closer to $150 million, plus an estimated $100 million in marketing [8][9]. That puts the all-in spend at $225 million to $250 million [20], and the first weekend's ticket sales equal 8% to 9% of it [21]. Cruise's last major disappointment, 2017's The Mummy, grossed $409.2 million worldwide on a $195 million budget [19], about 2.1 times its production cost [25]. Digger's opening covers 13% to 16% of its production cost [22].

None of this reaches the merger price. The film's all-in spend is about 0.2% of the $110 billion deal value [23], and the judge approved that price on Wednesday, before the weekend's numbers came in [10]. Fortune's report does not address how the combined company will account for the film.

Two things could still improve the picture for the film itself. The bull case is an awards run, since Warner dated Digger almost exactly where it put One Battle After Another last year [5], but a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score and a C+ CinemaScore [1] make that a long shot. Overseas sales could also build after the opening, given Cruise's usual pull abroad [18].

The third variable is the owners, and I'd expect them to stop paying for this kind of film. David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a box office newsletter, wrote that the incoming team of David Ellison, Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg "will soon decide what kind of movies they want from WB" [26]. "Paramount does not have a recent history of making big, auteur-driven films like this," he wrote, adding that "that strategy appears to be over and out" [27].

The counter-case is a year old. One Battle After Another, a similarly political original from a top filmmaker [5], grossed $213.2 million worldwide and won best picture [6]. That entire run is still $11.8 million short of Digger's lowest cost estimate [17]. Warner's only film this year headed past $100 million domestically is a December sequel, Dune: Part III [16]. The view is wrong if the combined studio approves another original from a star director at $125 million or more within a year of the close.

What to watch

  • Digger's second-weekend drop, domestically and across its 74 international markets.
  • Whether the combined company reports a charge tied to Digger or Warner's film slate in its first results after the Tuesday close.
  • The first original film from a star director that the Ellison, Greenstein and Goldberg team approves or cancels at Warner.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence68
Adoption14
Hype gap+8
Incentives40
Confidence66

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 38%
Operator
Operator 27%
Investor
Investor 35%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    Digger scored 51% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and received a C+ CinemaScore from audiences.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  2. [2]

    After reviews so bad that Warner Bros. opted to run 'decide for yourself' ads, estimates for Digger had been revised down over the past week.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  3. [3]

    Digger grossed $8 million domestically and $12 million from 74 international markets in its opening weekend.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  4. [4]

    Digger is directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu and stars Tom Cruise.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  5. [5]

    Digger was positioned as a potential awards-season heavyweight, dated almost exactly the same as One Battle After Another last year, and is a similarly politically charged release that handed a large budget to a top filmmaker working from an original story.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  6. [6]

    One Battle After Another grossed $213.2 million worldwide and won best picture at the Academy Awards.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  7. [7]

    Digger was a big swing by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  8. [8]

    Digger cost at least $125 million to make; reports have pegged the production budget closer to $150 million.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  9. [9]

    Digger's marketing spend is estimated at another $100 million.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  10. [10]

    U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin on Wednesday approved Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount said it would close the merger on Tuesday.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  11. [11]

    Amazon MGM's Verity debuted at No. 1 in North American theaters with $32.6 million.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  12. [12]

    Digger's worldwide opening was $20 million.

    Derived Supported
  13. [13]

    International opening sales averaged about $162,000 per market.

    Derived Supported
  14. [14]

    International sales were 60% of the worldwide opening.

    Derived Supported
  15. [15]

    Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy are expected to depart this week, and mass layoffs are anticipated to follow.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  16. [16]

    Warner Bros. has failed to get one film to $100 million domestically this year, though its December release, Dune: Part III, will easily cross that.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  17. [17]

    One Battle After Another's full worldwide gross is $11.8 million below Digger's lowest all-in cost estimate.

    Derived Supported
  18. [18]

    Cruise is typically a big draw overseas.

    Reported Supported Source: FortuneView cited source
  19. [19]

    Cruise's last major box-office disappointment was 2017's The Mummy, which grossed $409.2 million worldwide on a $195 million budget.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  20. [20]

    Digger's all-in production and marketing spend is $225 million to $250 million.

    Derived Supported
  21. [21]

    The opening weekend's ticket sales equal 8% to 9% of the all-in spend.

    Derived Supported
  22. [22]

    Digger's worldwide opening equals 13% to 16% of its production budget.

    Derived Supported
  23. [23]

    Digger's all-in spend is about 0.2% of the $110 billion deal value.

    Derived Supported
  24. [24]

    Once the merger closes on Tuesday, Digger's remaining box office results accrue to the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. company.

    Derived Supported
  25. [25]

    The Mummy grossed about 2.1 times its production budget.

    Derived Supported
  26. [26]

    'Digger' collapsed this weekend and the new management of the combined Paramount and Warner Bros., David Ellison and Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, will soon decide what kind of movies they want from WB

    Reported Insufficient Source: David A. Gross, film consultant and box office newsletter publisher, quoted by FortuneView cited source
  27. [27]

    Paramount does not have a recent history of making big, auteur-driven films like this -- that strategy appears to be over and out.

    Reported Insufficient Source: David A. Gross, quoted by FortuneView cited source

Sources

3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. arstechnica.com

    1 article · October 7, 2026

    Review: Digger is both frustrating and brilliant—by design
  2. fortune.com

    1 article · October 4, 2026

    Tom Cruise suffers one of the worst movie debuts of his career. Reviews were so bad Warner Bros. ran ‘decide for yourself’ ads
  3. gizmodo.com

    2 articles · October 4, 2026

    Actually, We Have to Talk About Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’

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