Tom Cruise’s new movie on course to be biggest box office flop ever as Digger set to lose staggering $245m

The film has managed just $35.3 million in worldwide receipts so far, with a projected final haul of roughly $50 million globally.

Given that cinemas retain approximately half of all ticket revenue, analysts at Variety have estimated that the film needs approximately $350 million just to cover its costs.

A Warner Bros spokesperson has disputed that figure to the publication, claiming the break-even threshold stands at $300 million instead.

Either way, the gap between what Digger will earn and what it needed to recoup is big enough to rank it among the most expensive commercial failures in Hollywood history.

The dark comedy features Mr Cruise as Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil magnate whose company triggers a potential catastrophe in Greenland. Riz Ahmed and John Goodman round out the supporting cast.

Alejandro G Iñárritu, the Oscar-winning director behind Birdman and The Revenant, helmed the project, which Warner Bros originally approved with a $125 million budget.

Production overruns pushed that figure to between $160 million and $180 million, with a further $100 million spent on global marketing.

Critical opinion has been split, and the film holds a 53 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 319 critic reviews.

However, cinemagoers have given it a warmer reception, with a 74 percent score.

One critical review came in The Guardian, with its critic dismissing Digger as “an exasperatingly shallow, laborious, self-congratulatory satire” in a two-star verdict.

Despite the mixed reception, Mr Cruise has insisted that success at the box office was not his primary concern.

He said last week that he “never thought of movies when I’m making them [in terms of] opening weekend,” claiming his focus was on creating work that would “hopefully will translate, last and evolve”.

Several prominent Hollywood figures rallied behind the film, with Anne Hathaway calling it “brilliant” and others including Jane Fonda, Guillermo del Toro and Mandy Patinkin publicly urging audiences to give it a chance.

Warner Bros has acknowledged the negative response from critics and has now attempted an unconventional marketing pivot by running social media advertisements that quoted negative notices and encouraged cinemagoers to “decide for yourself.”

Digger is the final standalone theatrical release for Warner Bros before its merger with Paramount, and caps what has been a rather disappointing 2026 for the studio.

Other costly flops this year include Supergirl and The Bride!, with not a single Warner Bros title crossing $100 million domestically.