Amazon MGM’s Verity opened at No. 1 in North America with an estimated $32.6 million, while Warner Bros.’ Tom Cruise vehicle Digger debuted in fifth place with an estimated $8 million. The sharply different results arrived days before the anticipated October 6 closing of Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, a transaction the companies have said remains subject to customary closing conditions.
The weekend gives Amazon MGM a leading theatrical start for Michael Showalter’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, starring Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett. It also leaves Warner Bros. with a modest launch for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s original film starring Cruise, one of the studio’s final releases before its planned corporate transition. The reported figures are Friday-to-Sunday estimates and can change when final domestic results are reported.
Forecasts and final weekend estimates diverged
Pre-release tracking pointed to a competitive frame, but the eventual estimates landed on opposite sides of those expectations. The Hollywood Reporter reported September 30 that studios were projecting a $27 million to $30 million domestic opening for Verity and $12 million to $15 million for Digger. Four days later, box-office reports put Verity at $32.6 million and Digger at $8 million.
Measured against the high ends of those ranges, Verity came in $2.6 million higher, while Digger fell $4 million short. Against Digger’s full projected range, its $8 million estimate was roughly 33% to 47% lower. Those comparisons describe the gap between forecasts and opening-weekend estimates, not a final accounting of either film’s theatrical prospects.
ABC News’ wire report and Screen Daily independently reported the same top-line weekend results. Screen Daily said Verity opened in 3,510 theaters and Digger in 3,321, making the difference in their nationwide launches especially conspicuous: Verity averaged about $9,300 per theater, compared with roughly $2,400 for Digger, based on the estimated grosses.
Audience polling offered another early measure of the films’ reception. Both outlets reported that Digger received a C+ CinemaScore. That grade is a survey result from opening-night moviegoers, rather than a forecast of total revenue, but it is among the indicators distributors watch as they assess whether a release can build beyond its first weekend.
Digger’s cost remains an estimate, not a settled result
The $8 million opening has prompted attention because of the scale of the production described in trade and wire coverage. ABC reported that Digger cost at least $125 million to make, citing reports that placed the production budget closer to $150 million and estimated marketing at $100 million. None of those figures represents a studio-confirmed final cost or a declaration of the film’s eventual profit-and-loss outcome.
The budget reporting is not fully consistent. The Hollywood Reporter said the film began with a $125 million production budget and that accounts placing it closer to $180 million had been disputed by a Warner Bros. spokesperson. Screen Daily reported a $150 million production cost, excluding a reported $100 million marketing spend, and discussed potential losses. Those are competing industry estimates, not audited studio financials, and they do not establish a breakeven point or final loss.
Screen Daily also characterized the debut as Cruise’s lowest domestic opening since Lions for Lambs, which opened to $6.7 million in November 2007. The comparison underscores the rarity of such a start for the actor, though it spans nearly two decades of changes in ticket prices, theatrical windows, streaming and the international market. The immediate, confirmed result is narrower: Digger placed fifth with an estimated $8 million in its first North American weekend.
A box-office snapshot before Warner Bros.’ planned transition
The timing has put unusual focus on an ordinary October box-office chart. On September 30, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery announced that their merger was expected to close October 6, subject to customary conditions. The companies’ joint announcement did not give a total transaction value; it outlined consideration for eligible Warner Bros. Discovery common shares of $31 in cash plus daily ticking consideration of $0.00277778 for each day after September 30 through closing.
Under the companies’ stated example, a closing on October 6 would result in $31.01666668 per eligible share. That date was an anticipated closing date, not confirmation that the deal had closed. The announcement also cautioned that the transaction could be delayed, altered or fail to close if relevant risks or conditions were not resolved.
Reports have described Digger as Warner Bros.’ final pre-merger release, but the weekend result itself does not determine the new company’s strategy or personnel decisions. It does provide a clear final opening-weekend marker before the planned transition: Amazon MGM’s novel adaptation began with an estimated $32.6 million, while Warner Bros.’ expensive original star vehicle began with an estimated $8 million.
