Dakota Johnson's 'Verity' Buries Tom Cruise's Reported $160M+ 'Digger' in His Worst Opening in 19 Years

Dakota Johnson's Verity has buried Tom Cruise's latest big-budget gamble at the box office, opening at No. 1 while Digger suffered a disastrous $8 million North American debut.

The psychological thriller, which also stars Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett, earned an estimated $32.6 million from 3,510 cinemas across North America. Internationally, Verity added another $30 million, bringing its worldwide opening to approximately $62.5 million.

By comparison, Cruise's Digger opened with only $8 million domestically from 3,321 cinemas and another $12 million internationally, leaving the film with a worldwide start of roughly $20 million.

The result marks one of Cruise's weakest theatrical openings in nearly two decades and leaves the costly project facing a steep climb towards profitability.

'Verity' Turns Colleen Hoover Bestseller Into No. 1 Film

Directed by Michael Showalter, Verity follows struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, played by Johnson, after she is hired to complete a bestselling book series belonging to injured author Verity Crawford, portrayed by Hathaway.

Lowen moves into the Crawford family home and discovers a manuscript that raises disturbing questions about Verity, her marriage and the truth behind the family's past.

The film is adapted from Colleen Hoover's bestselling psychological thriller and entered cinemas with an estimated production budget of around $40 million.

Despite mixed reviews and a C+ CinemaScore, audiences still turned out in significant numbers during opening weekend.

Women accounted for 78% of the domestic audience, while viewers aged 25 to 34 represented the largest age group.

That strong turnout means Verity is already positioned far more comfortably financially than its biggest weekend rival.

'Digger' Budget Ballooned Beyond Original $125M Price Tag

The scale of Digger's opening becomes more significant when compared with how much the film reportedly cost.

Warner Bros initially approved Alejandro González Iñárritu's black comedy with a budget of around $125 million.

However, production reportedly ran longer than expected, pushing the final cost to somewhere between $160 million and $180 million. Warner Bros disputes the estimate.

The studio then spent approximately another $100 million on global marketing.

Industry estimates place the film's theatrical break-even point between roughly $300 million and $350 million worldwide, although the precise figure depends on distribution costs, revenue sharing and other expenses.

That makes a $20 million global opening particularly difficult.

Tom Cruise's Star Power Faces Rare Box-Office Test

Cruise plays eccentric oil billionaire Digger Rockwell in the satire, which centres on an environmental catastrophe that threatens to spiral into an even larger global crisis.

The role marks a departure from the action franchises that have defined much of Cruise's recent career.

He underwent an extensive physical transformation involving prosthetics, ageing make-up and a padded body suit for the film. Cruise has described the project as unlike anything he had previously made.

Early reactions were sharply divided, with the film praised by some critics for its ambition while others described it as baffling or unpleasant.

Warner Bros ultimately incorporated the polarised reviews into its advertising, encouraging audiences to judge the movie for themselves.

So far, that strategy has not translated into strong ticket sales.

Digger opened in fifth place, behind Verity and several holdovers including Resident Evil and Heart of the Beast.

For Cruise, whose career has long been associated with reliable theatrical performance, the result represents an unusually severe setback.

For Johnson, Hathaway and Verity, however, the weekend delivered the opposite outcome: a No. 1 debut and a worldwide opening already exceeding the film's reported production budget.