Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu spent 125 million dollars on a dark comedy with Tom Cruise - early tracking puts the opening at 20 million
Tom Cruise’s next outing, Digger, isn’t exactly off to a flying start, with early box office tracking hinting at trouble well before its 2 October 2026 release.
If you were hoping for a massive box office win from Tom Cruise's next film, brace yourself. The early numbers are out for Digger, and they look – well, let’s just say I’ve seen healthier forecasts for British weather in November.
Digger currently opens on tracking with a projected $20 million domestic gross.
Cruise Digs Into Comedy – But at What Cost?
Mark your calendars: Digger hits the big screen on 2 October 2026. Studios had no small ambitions here: according to The Numbers, the film’s production budget lands at a beastly $125 million. That sort of cash usually gets flung at things that explode or break sound barriers – not dry, dark comedies starring a Hollywood legend taking a left turn.
This time, instead of leaping off buildings, the 64-year-old Tom Cruise takes on Digger Rockwell, a billionaire who – in true Cruise form – triggers an actual global disaster (bit on the nose, that). The twist is, Rockwell then tries to convince the world only he can sort out the mess. Whether that’s biting satire or thinly veiled autobiography, you decide.
Reflecting on his decision to cast Cruise in the lead role, director Alejandro González Iñárritu put it to the Motion Picture Association: "People often ask me why I chose Tom to play Digger. To me, that’s like asking somebody why you drink water when you are thirsty. Because it’s what you need."
He doubled down on the Cruise love, adding that what really stunned him was discovering Cruise the person is apparently just as extraordinary as Cruise the actor. Charming, I suppose – if you’ve got Cruise money to knock about.
Can It Survive a Rocky Start?
Now, those box office projections – a frankly underwhelming $20 million domestically – won’t even come close to recouping the production splurge. Not initially, anyway. But Hollywood can be peculiar: if Digger ends up wooing critics or lands itself in awards conversations, cinemas might well keep it in rotation far longer. Get a handful of Oscar nods or a surprise bit of hype around Cruise’s supposed transformative performance, and you could see the film clawing back ground – the old slow-burn strategy. There’s even chatter that, with some awards love, the studio could drag it back for a victory lap with IMAX screenings. Stranger things have happened (not always for the better, admittedly).
The director’s chair goes to Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose last few films didn’t exactly pander to the lowest common denominator. The supporting cast isn’t half bad, either – we’re talking Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma D'Arcy, Burn Gorman, Mercedes Hernández, Robert John Burke, Danny Kirrane, and Pip Torrens. That’s a lot of BAFTA-friendly faces for your 128-minute dark comedy romp.
- Digger is set for release on 2 October 2026, running 128 minutes.
- Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
- Tom Cruise stars as billionaire Digger Rockwell, joined by a dense supporting cast.
- Production budget: $125 million; initial tracking suggests a rough $20 million domestic opening.