Tom Cruise film Digger could lose $245m at box office
The film dropped by around 60% in its second weekend, and could become one of Hollywood's biggest flops.
Tom Cruise’s latest film, Digger, is projected to lose about $245m (£185m) at the box office, according to Hollywood analysts, following its continued weak showing in cinemas.
Ticket sales for the satirical black comedy, in which Cruise plays oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, fell by roughly 60% in the film’s second weekend.
That leaves Digger with total worldwide box office receipts of about $35m (£26m) so far. Warner Bros is estimated to have spent around $280m (£211m) to produce and market the movie.
Given its takings compared with its budget, the film could end up among the biggest box office failures in Hollywood history.
Digger’s results stand in stark contrast to the success of recent IP-based Cruise hits, including new entries in the Top Gun and Mission: Impossible franchises.
The film is directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, whose previous work includes Birdman, Babel and The Revenant.
Hollywood trade outlet Variety reported that Digger is expected to finish its theatrical run with around $50m (£38m) worldwide.
Because of its budget, marketing expenses, the share of ticket revenue that goes to cinemas and the likely cost of an awards-season campaign, the film would need about $350m (£264m) to break even.
A Warner Bros spokesman, however, slightly disputed that estimate, telling Variety that the break-even figure was $300m (£227m).
Digger was the studio’s final standalone release before its recent takeover by Paramount.
At the same time, the new sequel to the Oscar-winning hit The Social Network also had a difficult opening weekend at the box office.
The Social Reckoning earned $5.5m (£4.1m) in the US, far below the $22m (£16m) its predecessor made on its opening weekend in 2010, before inflation adjustment.
Worldwide, Aaron Sorkin’s latest film, starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Strong and Jeremy Allen White, brought in about $9m (£6.8m).
The film is based on the true story of Facebook engineer Frances Haugan, who leaked internal documents to a reporter after growing concerned about some of the company’s practices.