Tom Cruise film Digger forecast to lose £185 million
Tom Cruise's eco-satire Digger is forecast to lose around £185 million after a weak opening and second weekend, making it one of Hollywood's biggest flops.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Tom Cruise's latest film, the eco-satire Digger, is heading for one of the biggest box office losses in Hollywood history. The film was shunned by cinema-goers again over the weekend, and it is now forecast to lose around £185 million.
Warner Brothers spent heavily on the film and its marketing. The studio put £75 million into promotion. The total cost to make and market Digger was £211 million. To break even, the film needs to take £264 million at the box office, because cinemas keep a share of ticket money.
The opening weekend was far below expectations. A film of this type might have been expected to make £50 million, but Digger took £15 million. Its second weekend takings more than halved. Variety magazine expects the satirical comedy to make just £38 million in total by the end of its run.
Digger stars Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon. The film is a different genre for Cruise, without the polish of the Mission: Impossible series. It was panned by critics and faced stiff competition.
The projected £185 million loss would put Digger alongside films such as Cutthroat Island, Sahara, The Marvels and Speed Racer as one of Hollywood's biggest flops. Cruise has more films to come, but the failure raises questions about whether his box office power is still as strong as it was.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Digger took £15 million on its opening weekend, had a sharp second-weekend decline, and Variety projected total box office takings of £38 million. | Reported by ITV |
| Tom Cruise's film Digger was reported to be facing an estimated loss of around £185 million. | |
| Warner Brothers reportedly spent £211 million making and marketing Digger, which needs £264 million in box office takings to break even. | Reported by ITV |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 led its entertainment segment on the scale of the flop, with a light, slightly mocking studio tone. It focused on the marketing blitz, the break-even maths and comparisons with other big Hollywood losses. It also noted the genre change, critical panning and competition as reasons for the failure.
- “The film is now forecast to lose around £185 million.”
- “They pushed it so hard they pushed it over the edge of a cliff and it tanked.”
- “It was panned by critics and it faced some stiff competition.”
Broadcast Timeline
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