Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ could be one of Hollywood’s biggest flops ever, with a projected $245 million loss

Warner Bros.’ “Digger” opened to an underwhelming $8 million at the domestic box office over the Oct. 2 weekend. Despite the star power of Tom Cruise, in his first film since “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” and the vision of Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the dark comedy quickly became one of the year’s biggest flops, handing Cruise one of the worst debuts of his career. Now, after a 60% drop in its second weekend, the film is tracking to lose an estimated $245 million in its theatrical run, according to Variety, putting it in contention for one of the costliest bombs on record.

A ballooning budget and a $350 million break-even

The movie, which stars Cruise as an aging oil tycoon whose drilling sets off an environmental catastrophe, was greenlit at a reported $125 million. But production costs climbed to between $160 million and $180 million after filming ran over schedule, according to Variety. Add a global marketing campaign estimated at roughly $100 million—much of it built around Cruise—and the roughly half of ticket sales that theaters keep, and “Digger” needs to gross about $350 million worldwide to break even,........

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