Verity earns $4.5M in previews while Digger stumbles with $1.2M at box office

Amazon MGM Studio's Colleen Hoover thriller "Verity" earned $4.5 million in previews, meeting expectations for the author's second most popular novel adaptation, while Warner Bros' Tom Cruise-starring satire "Digger" collected just $1.2 million in previews, signaling a weak box office start. "Verity's" preview figure falls between Hoover's previous adaptations: below the $7 million previews of the mega-hit "It Ends With Us" ($50 million opening) but above the $1.9 million from "Reminders of Him" earlier this year ($17.9 million total). The Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway, and Josh Hartnett film is projected for a $30 million-plus weekend. "Digger," directed by Alejandro Iñárritu with a $125 million-$160 million budget, trails last fall's "One Battle After Another" previews ($3.1 million) and may struggle to exceed a $10 million North American opening. The "Digger" previews coincided with news that Warner Bros Motion Picture Chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy would not join the new combined Paramount Warner Bros merger, adding uncertainty to the studio's theatrical strategy.