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Tom Cruise film Digger could lose $245m at box office

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McIntosh, S. (2026, October 12). Tom Cruise film Digger could lose $245m at box office. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cke8re5v1pgmo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-10-12 · by Steven McIntosh

Quick Summary

Tom Cruise's film Digger is projected to lose approximately $245 million at the box office after poor sales in its second weekend dropped takings by about 60%. With a production and marketing budget of around $280 million, Digger's global earnings currently stand at only $35 million. This performance starkly contrasts with Cruise’s recent successful films like Top Gun and Mission: Impossible, making it potentially one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history.
Written by AI on 2026-10-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Tom Cruise's film "Digger" has become one of the biggest box office flops in Hollywood history after grossing just $8 million during its opening weekend domestically. Despite an initial marketing budget of about $125 million, the film's total production and marketing costs soared to approximately $280 million. In its second weekend, "Digger" saw a staggering 60% decline in ticket sales, bringing its global box office takings to around $35 million. Industry analysts predict that the movie could lose an estimated $245 million, making it one of the most costly failures in film history. The polarizing reception includes critics comparing the viewing experience to enduring a painful ordeal; one review likened watching "Digger" to suffering through two hours of tedious material with another hour left to go.

Written for “Tom Cruise Film Flop Controversy” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Tom Cruise Film Flop Controversy
Entertainment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 32 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the film's release and reception over time, not a single specific incident.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 6 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on the financial performance and box office takings of Tom Cruise's film Digger, while Article B discusses broader themes and analysis about why satirical films like Digger are failing at the box office.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 65 claims Outlet record 61/100
“Article A discusses the initial poor performance and critical reception of Digger after its first week, while Article B focuses on the financial losses projected for the film in subsequent weeks.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 42 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the film's performance over time; Article A focuses on initial scathing reviews and the immediate aftermath, while Article B reports on subsequent box office figures and financial projections.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 5079 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Steven McIntosh
14 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 - Published Tom Cruise's latest film Digger is expected to lose around $245m (£185m), Hollywood analysts have said, after the film's continuing poor performance in cinemas. Ticket sales for the satirical black comedy, which stars Cruise as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, dropped by around 60% in the movie's second weekend.
2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Tom Cruise film Digger could lose $245m at box office
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Also by Steven McIntosh
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 14 articles by Steven McIntosh →

Topics

Digger Hollywood Paramount Variety Warner Bros

Subjects

Cruise PERSON · 3× Hollywood GPE · 3× Variety ORG · 2× Warner Bros ORG · 2× Aaron Sorkin's PERSON · 1× Alejandro G Iñárritu PERSON · 1× Digger ORG · 1× Digger Rockwell PERSON · 1× Paramount ORG · 1× Tom Cruise's PERSON · 1×

Narrative

- Published Tom Cruise's latest film Digger is expected to lose around $245m (£185m), Hollywood analysts have said, after the film's continuing poor performance in cinemas. Ticket sales for the satirical black comedy, which stars Cruise as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, dropped by around 60% in the movie's second weekend.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-12
🔮 - Published Tom Cruise's latest film Digger is expected to lose around $245m (£185m), Hollywood analysts have said, after the film's continuing poor performance in cinemas. Ticket sales for the satirical black comedy, which stars Cruise as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, dropped by around 60% in the movie's second weekend.
2026-10-12 · BBC News
Tom Cruise film Digger could lose $245m at box office · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

- Published Tom Cruise's latest film Digger is expected to lose around $245m (£185m), Hollywood analysts have said, after the film's continuing poor performance in cinemas. Ticket sales for the satirical black comedy, which stars Cruise as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, dropped by around 60% in the movie's second weekend. asserted
which → publish → weekend
It brings Digger's total box office takings to around $35m (£26m) globally so far. asserted
It → bring → m
The film is estimated to have cost its studio Warner Bros around $280m (£211m) to make and market. asserted
film → estimate → 280
But Cruise said last week, external that he "never thought of movies when I'm making them [in terms of] opening weekend," adding he was instead focused on making films that "hopefully will translate, last and evolve". asserted
that → say → films
The film's takings relative to its budget mean it could become one of the biggest film flops in Hollywood history. uncertain
it → mean → history
Digger's performance is in sharp contrast to the success of IP-driven hits starring Cruise in recent years, such as new instalments of the Top Gun and Mission: Impossible franchises. asserted
performance → drive → Gun
Digger is directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, best known for films such as Birdman, Babel and The Revenant. asserted
Digger → direct → Birdman
Hollywood trade publication Variety said Digger was expected to end its box office run with around $50m (£38m) worldwide. asserted
Digger → say → m
The film would need around $350m (£264m) to break even, due to its budget, marketing costs, the portion of ticket sales that go to theatres and the likely spend on an awards season campaign. asserted
that → need → campaign
However, a Warner Bros spokesman pushed back slightly on the figure, telling Variety the film's break even point was $300m (£227m). asserted
point → push → Variety
Meanwhile, the new sequel to the Oscar-winning hit The Social Network also struggled at the box office on its opening weekend. asserted
sequel → win → weekend
The Social Reckoning took $5.5m in the US, significantly lower than the $22m its predecessor took on its opening weekend in 2010, not adjusted for inflation. asserted
predecessor → take → inflation
Globally, Aaron Sorkin's latest film, starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Strong and Jeremy Allen White, took around $9m (£6.8m). asserted
film → star → 9
The film tells the true story of a Facebook engineer, Frances Haugan, who leaked internal documents to a reporter after becoming concerned about some of the company's practices. asserted
who → tell → practices
The Social Reckoning was beaten in the US box office chart by horror movie Other Mommy, psychological thriller Verity, video game adaptation Resident Evil and Brad Pitt's wilderness thriller Heart of the Beast. asserted
Reckoning → beat → Beast
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