Tom Cruise's Digger Risks Extending His Box Office Losing Streak

Tom Cruise's upcoming film Digger is projected to open between $20-$30 million domestically, potentially placing second behind the Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity during its October 2 debut weekend. This would mark his second consecutive non-first-place opening after Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning finished second in 2025. Digger represents Cruise's first non-action role in nearly a decade, featuring him as an oil tycoon with heavy prosthetics in a black comedy directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The $125 million production is positioned as an awards play, though its marketing has struggled to generate significant audience interest. Cruise has opened at number one domestically 14 times this century, with only four prior instances of back-to-back non-first-place finishes. His upcoming projects, including Days of Thunder 2 and Top Gun 3, are expected to return him to box office dominance.