Verity” Leads the Box Office as Tom Cruise’s “Digger” Suffers Major Opening Setback

NEW YORK – Amazon MGM’s “Verity” topped the North American box office over the weekend, opening with approximately $32.6 million and extending the strong theatrical run of adaptations based on Colleen Hoover’s novels.

Directed by Michael Showalter, the thriller stars Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway. The story follows a writer hired to continue a book series on behalf of an incapacitated author.

Meanwhile, “Digger” delivered a disappointing debut, earning only $8 million domestically and another $12 million from international markets. The weak performance ranks among the poorest openings of Tom Cruise’s career.

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the film cost at least $125 million to produce, with some estimates placing the budget closer to $150 million. Marketing costs are believed to have added roughly another $100 million.

“Digger” had been promoted as a major awards-season contender, but it faced a largely negative critical response. The film currently holds a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it a C+ CinemaScore.

The weak opening comes as Paramount Skydance moves closer to completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued at around $110 billion. The transaction is expected to bring major changes to Warner Bros., including management departures and potential layoffs.

Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” re-release dropped to seventh place, earning $4.4 million domestically and $14.4 million internationally. Its second-week performance, however, pushed the film’s lifetime worldwide total to approximately $2.9255 billion, allowing it to narrowly overtake “Avatar” once again as the highest-grossing film of all time, excluding inflation.