Tom Cruise’s Digger struggles at the box office as Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson’s Verity takes a commanding lead.

Tom Cruise’s latest film Digger is heading towards a disappointing opening weekend, with Verity emerging as the clear box-office leader.

Digger earned USD 3.3 million on Friday, including revenue from Thursday night previews. The film is now projected to gross around USD 8 million during its opening weekend, significantly below Warner Bros.’ expectations.

The weak debut is particularly concerning given the film’s estimated USD 125 million production budget. If the trend continues, Digger could record one of Cruise’s weakest domestic openings in nearly two decades.

Cruise’s 2007 drama Lions for Lambs opened with USD 6.7 million domestically, providing a benchmark that Digger could approach if its current box-office momentum fails to improve.

The film has also received a mixed response from audiences and critics. Digger currently holds a C+ CinemaScore, while its Rotten Tomatoes critics’ rating stands at 51 per cent.

Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil businessman whose actions trigger a devastating natural disaster, setting the stage for the film’s dramatic storyline.

Meanwhile, Verity is enjoying a considerably stronger launch. The thriller, starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, collected USD 15.1 million on Friday, including Thursday preview screenings.

The film is forecast to finish its opening weekend with approximately USD 33.6 million, putting it comfortably ahead of Digger.

The contrasting performances give Verity a strong early advantage at the box office, while Digger faces pressure to attract more audiences in the coming weeks and recover some of its substantial production costs.