Ouch. Warner Bros.' “Digger” will lose roughly 2,535 theaters heading into its third weekend, leaving Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Tom Cruise-starring satire in just 786 venues. That's down from about 3,321 last weekend, a 76% cut, and one of the biggest ever week-two-to-week-three drops in theater count for a major studio release.
Sadly, the numbers explain why. The $170M+ costing film opened to $8M domestic and $20M worldwide, then fell 60% in its second weekend. That opening was Cruise's lowest as a leading man since “Lions for Lambs” in 2007, and audiences didn't rescue it either: the CinemaScore was a C+.
It’s come to the point where Variety and TheWrap’s sources have “Digger” tracking to lose $245M-$250M over its theatrical run, and yet it's now projected to finish around $50M worldwide, against an estimated $350M needed to even. For context, “John Carter” holds the nominal record, costing Disney an estimated $255-280M. “Digger” is knocking on that door.
Warners tried everything, and spent an astounding $100M on marketing. The studio even had a "Decide for Yourself" campaign to push audiences past the reviews, and a slew of famous friends stumped for it: Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Mandy Patinkin, Jane Fonda, Guillermo del Toro, Glen Powell, Michael Mann, and Ron Howard all used social media to champion the movie. None of it mattered.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Tom Cruise-starring satire is now playing in just 786 venues. That's down from about 3,321 last weekend, a 76% cut, and one of the biggest ever week-two-to-week-three drops ever.