‘Digger’ Stumbles as ‘Verity’ Tops Box Office and ‘Endgame’ Retakes the Crown

It was a weekend of contrasts at the movies. An ambitious, expensive satire starring Tom Cruise opened to weak ticket sales, a thriller adapted from a bestselling novel took first place, and a seven-year-old superhero film quietly reclaimed the title of highest-grossing movie ever made.

“Digger,” directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, took in about $8 million in North America and roughly $20 million worldwide in its first weekend, according to estimates reported by the Guardian, one of the weakest debuts of Cruise’s career. International audiences, usually a reliable market for the star, contributed about $12 million from 74 markets. The film reportedly cost at least $125 million to make, with some estimates closer to $150 million, plus marketing spending put at about $100 million.

The film casts Cruise as a powerful oil baron who helps unleash an existential threat on the world, with John Goodman as the president and Riz Ahmed as a scientist. NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour called it loud, audacious and sure to be polarizing. Many critics were harsher, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a C-plus, though Cruise’s go-for-broke performance drew some praise. Warner Bros. had positioned the film as an awards contender, much as it did last year with “One Battle After Another,” which went on to win best picture.

First place went to “Verity,” Amazon MGM’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, which opened with about $32.6 million in North America. Directed by Michael Showalter, the erotic thriller stars Dakota Johnson as a struggling writer hired to finish a book series for a famous author, played by Anne Hathaway. It extends a run of box office success for Hoover adaptations.

Meanwhile, the rerelease of “Avengers: Endgame,” timed ahead of the December arrival of “Avengers: Doomsday,” pushed the 2019 film’s worldwide total to about $2.9255 billion, just ahead of the roughly $2.9237 billion for James Cameron’s “Avatar,” both NPR and the Guardian reported. The two films have traded the top spot through rereleases; “Avatar” regained it in 2021 on the strength of a rerelease in China, and later rereleases kept it on top. Both are Disney releases, and NPR noted that the jockeying reflects rising ticket prices more than rising attendance, since the totals are not adjusted for inflation.

The “Digger” opening arrives at an awkward moment for Warner Bros., which is being absorbed by Paramount Skydance in a deal valued at about $110 billion that is expected to close this week. David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a box office newsletter, told the Guardian that the new owners are unlikely to keep financing big, original films by auteur directors. In a strong year for Hollywood overall, Warner Bros. has yet to see a film reach $100 million in the United States, the Guardian noted, though its December release, “Dune: Part III,” is widely expected to.